


Mors Amicus in Uiam Uitae

by Strifes_Lady



Series: Familia Ante Omnia Series [2]
Category: Bleach, Harry Potter - Fandom, Naruto
Genre: AU/AR, F/M, Het, M/M, Major Crossover, Mpreg, Multi, See Warning Page for the rest, Slash, Yuri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-12
Updated: 2013-07-12
Packaged: 2017-12-19 06:14:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 28
Words: 244,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/880379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strifes_Lady/pseuds/Strifes_Lady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Familia Ante Omnia. Come Join Us for Kushina's Sixth Year! Whatever will happen next...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Warning/Disclaimer Page!

**Disclaimer: I do not own nor believe I own these particular worlds, I just like playing in them. Harry Potter and all other Characters from said realm are owned by J.K. Rowling. Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto while Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo. All three are wonderful authors and I would never dream to usurp their authority, I just like playing in their sandboxes. If my story resembles another than that is not intentional as I began to write this about two years ago but was determined to complete it before posting it to any site.**

* * *

 

**Mors Amicus in Uiam Uitae**

**BY: Strifes_Lady**

**Warnings: Lets see how many I can fit… Slash, Het, Yuri, Gender-Bending of main Characters (only Kushina this time), Crossover with three fandoms, AU's of all three Fandoms, and finally… Mpreg. There you are duly warned, now don't come crying to me about one of these warnings cause I won't listen. (I don't think I have any new warnings to add from the last fic so this will stand for now.)**

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Pairings: Warning there is a long list ahead with spoilers for the fanfic read at your own risk… Separated now by Fandom.

**Harry Potter Pairings:**

_FemHarry/Kisuke Urahara,_

_James Potter/Remus Lupin,_

_Sirius Black/Severus Snape,_

_Molly Weasley/Arthur Weasley,_

_Bill Weasley/Fleur Delacour,_

_Theodore 'Ted' Tonks/Andromeda Tonks,_

_Alice Longbottom/Frank Longbottom,_

_Neville Longbottom/Hannah Abbott,_

_Lee Jordan/Theodore Nott._

* * *

 

**Bleach Pairings:**

_Ichigo Kurosaki/Byakuya Kuchiki,_

_Yoruichi/Soifon,_

_Shuhei Hisagi/Kensei Murguruma,_

_Shunsui Kyoraku/Sado 'Chad' Yasutora,_

_Gin Ichimaru/ Rangiku Masumoto,_

_Hanataro Yamada/Ganju Shiba,_

_Shinji Hirako/Hiyori Sarugaki,_

_Kiyone Kotetsu/Sentaro Kotsubaki,_

_Rose Otoribashi/Love Aikawa,_

_Toshiro Hitsugaya/ Karin Kurosaki,_

_Lisa Yadomaru/Mashiro Kuna,_

_Renji Abari/Ulquiorra Schiffer,_

_Uryu Ishida/Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez,_

_Yazu Kurosaki/Yachiru K._

* * *

**Mixed Pairings:**

_Rukia Kuchiki/Ron Weasley,_

_Hermione Granger/Kenpachi Zaraki,_

_Jushiro Ukitake/Nymphadora Tonks,_

_Fred and George Weasley/Yumichika Ayasegawa,_

_Percy Weasley/Isane Kotetsu,_

_Ginny Weasley/Tetsuzaemon Iba,_

_Kingsley Shacklebolt/Nanao Isa,_

_Blaise Zabini/Orihime Inoue._

* * *

 

**Notes:**

**This does make the world of Naruto, Bleach and Harry Potter do a bit of a one eighty. My Hermione is not as enthusiastic over the freedom of house elves, as she had spoken directly to several house elves with Kushina's encouragement. My Ron is less insecure and more sure of himself, while Neville has more confidence thanks to the return of his parents. He is still somewhat shy and unsure of himself but that is fading thanks to his mother and father's encouragement. I will be writing three books to this series, hopefully no more than that. ^_\ Kushina isn't perfect far from it in-fact, she has her flaws...she just hides them very well. (P.S. The potions used in this story that you don't recognize, do not under any circumstances try to make them as they are not real. Thank you.) If anyone wants to write a lemon based on this story go ahead but do give me a link to it. And point anyone in the way of the fic, thank you.**

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And now without further ado, On with the fic!


	2. Chapter One: Of Full Moons and Days of Birth

**Chapter One:** **Of Full Moons and Days of Birth**

* * *

 

Prongs laid down on his side next to a small pool of water as he watched his daughter and mate playfully fought with each other in the distance.

Only Kushina, Ron, Hermione and Prongs had been able to join Moony this time, since Sirius had given birth earlier in the month. Remus had told Sirius while he had held Sirius and Severus's daughter, "don't even think about coming this full moon. I'll be fine without Padfoot there, spend some time with her and Severus." Reluctantly Sirius had agreed, they had then ended up discussing what to do about the full moons while at Hogwarts. Minerva and Albus both volunteered to play babysitter to Cassiopeia during the full moons if Sirius and Severus wanted to join the pack.

While Kushina and Remus were play fighting, Ron and Hermione were chasing each other all around the small wooded area that Kisuke had added during the months between the winter holiday and the summer holiday to the hidden training area. Yoruichi had taken one look at it and said, "huh. I wonder why we never thought to add something like this to our play area back in the Seireitei…"

Kisuke had just shrugged and said, "I'll add a forest to it later."

The large stag suddenly snorted jerking his head back and climbing halfway to his hooves, startled by his daughter rushing headlong at him, she then veered away from him at the last minute. Prongs settled back down from his half standing position, shaking his head as he laid back down. The large cheetah had raced back to the wolf and playfully tackled him, the two wrestled for a while before the wolf shook off the cheetah and trotted over to the stag.

The cheetah stared after the wolf with it's mouth open panting, it then shook the dust out of it's coat before it went to join the Amur leopard in chasing the Bengal tiger. While watching the three younger animals playing the stag and wolf fell asleep curled up by the pool.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The next morning Remus woke up and stretched, he heard a chuckle from the right, as he stretched he thought to himself, _'it's getting easier and easier every full moon to transform_.' When he looked up at the chuckle, he saw his daughter's fiancé smiling down at him, he looked down to see a robe draped over him and a blanket on Prong's back. Kisuke laughed again and said, "don't worry. After the two of you fell asleep, Kushina decided to cover you both up and sent Ron and Hermione up stairs."

Remus frowned before he asked, "where's…?"

Kisuke interrupted, "she's over there." He pointed off to Remus' left, and when he looked over he saw the large cheetah sprawled out under a tree, sound asleep. He looked back up at the blond shop keeper when he chuckled, "I didn't have the heart to wake her up." Kisuke then handed Remus a set of clothes and said, "here. You might want to get dressed. I took Kushina's presents over to Grimmauld Place last night."

Remus got quickly got dressed then shook Prong's shoulder and said, "Prongs, it's time to wake up."

The large stag lifted its head and snorted before he got up and stretched his body. James transformed back into human form, he stretched again this time a series of pops rung out, Remus winced and said, "I really hate it when you do that."

James smirked at his mate and said, "I know. But it feels too good to give up doing."

Remus scowled at his mate and said, "I hate you."

Both of them heard a laugh and then their daughter said as she passed them to go up the ladder, "you don't hate Dad, Papa. You love him too much to hate him."

Remus frowned at his daughter playfully and said, "I hate it when you're right."

The three men followed her up the ladder where they found Ron and Hermione passed out on the couches in the living room. Kushina snickered at the sight before she went over to Ron and shook his shoulder, Ron woke up and glared at her. He enunciated clearly, "go away Kushina. I'm sleeping."

Her lips twitched and she shook his shoulder again before she said, "Ron, wake up if you want to see Hermione shoot out of bed quicker than a Weasley male eats breakfast." Ron pouted but got up and rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes.

Ron watched with interest as Kushina walked over to Hermione and said in a singsong tone, "Hermione. It's time to wake up…" Hermione had merely mumbled and turned over, completely ignoring Kushina.

Kushina then smirked and said in a loud scandalized tone, " **KENPACHI!** Put your clothes on this instant and get out of my kitchen!"

Hermione shot up and said, **"NO DON'T! KEEP THEM OFF!"** She shot off of toward the kitchen not even seeing the three men leaning against the wall laughing and her best friends rolling on the ground laughing. She stalked out of the kitchen and snarled, "Kushina!"

Kushina looked up at her and said innocently, "yes Hermione? What can I do for you?" She then blinked innocently up at the brown haired girl.

Hermione's left eye twitched and she said in a forced calm tone, "Kushina, your innocent face sucks and you better start running." Kushina smirked up at her then transformed back into her animagus form and shot off toward the training area. Hermione switched forms as well and chased the larger cat.

Ron laughed again then looked up at James and asked, "so what time is her party supposed to start anyway?"

James hummed in thought then said, "we're supposed to get there around three o'clock. Why?"

Ron walked toward the stairs and said, "I was just wondering if I had enough time to take a shower." With that he raced up the stairs to the room he'd thrown his stuff in the night before.

Remus snorted and said, "he has the right idea. I'm going to take a shower," with that Remus walked up the stairs to his and James' room, which was across from the master bedroom.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

At two thirty in the after noon, Kushina and the others go over to Grimmauld Place, Kushina knew her presents were there but not that they had planned a party for her until she tumbled out of the fireplace and everyone yelled surprise. She had yelped and jumped in shock, Ichigo had laughed at her, he had finally reverted back to his male self earlier in the month. Matter of fact he'd transformed back just in time for his own birthday.

Kushina had grinned and shook her head, as she hugged her godfathers she said, "you didn't have to do this."

Sirius barked out a laugh and said, "we know. We wanted to though, so hush and accept the surprise." He then ruffled her bangs and she rolled her eyes but nodded reluctantly in acceptance.

Severus smiled at the pair while Remus was talking to the Prewett twins on what they had been up to in Japan. James on the other hand was talking to Yazu and Karin who had only met their mother's cousin the past Christmas.

Kushina looked around the room and noted that certain people were standing near each other now. Shunsui was standing near Chad while talking to Jushiro who was sneaking glances over at Tonks, who was crooning to her cousins baby girl. Chad appeared to be listening intently to the story that Shunsui was telling him and Jushiro.

Kensei was being dragged over to the dance floor by Shuhei, while Izuru was blushing at whatever Ikkaku was whispering in his ear. She couldn't see Fred and George anywhere, and according to what she asked Severus they should be around. She took another careful look around the room and noted that Yumichika was missing as well. She smirked to herself before she stalked over to Albus to ask him about how he thought the presence of the shinigami and Arrancar would be taken this year at Hogwarts.

Albus blinked a bit before he said while he sucked on a lemon drop, "I don't think it'll matter too much. The students are already used to seeing Kenpachi drop by, of course they're not used to him staying but I'm sure they'll adjust."

Kushina laughed and commented, "I certainly hope so. At least I won't have to worry about demonstration partners." With that she waved goodbye at the Headmaster and wandered over to Fabian and Gideon, both of whom were teasing a white haired man.

She smirked and said, "Fabian, Gideon. Did you two enjoy yourselves in Japan?"

They looked over their shoulders and upon seeing her, Fabian hugged her tightly and said, "indeed we did."

After several moments of her speaking with them she managed to shoo the pair off toward the kitchens. Kushina gazed at the white haired Quincy for several minutes before she said, "you're Ryuken Ishida, correct?"

He tilted his head to the side and said, "yes. And you are?" He asked while raising a white eyebrow.

She smiled predatorily, "I'm Kushina, Kisuke's Fiancée. And I think you and I need to have a little chat, Ishida-san."

Ryuken got a bit nervous upon seeing the smile and wondered exactly what he'd gotten himself into, then he wondered if Kisuke Urahara knew what he'd gotten himself into by agreeing to marry this young woman. Kushina gripped him by the elbow and lead him out of the room talking quietly the whole way about the proper way to care for a child as well how not to break a pair of twins' hearts.

By the time she was done with him he was shell-shocked and stunned, when she turned him back over to the Prewett twins, they took one look at him and asked, "did you break him?"

She smiled smugly at them and said, "no. I merely talked to him about certain things." She then swept away from the three men and walked toward the newly arrived Percy Weasley and Kingsley Shacklebolt.

She quickly stepped between them and laced her arms through theirs while she said, "come with me gentlemen. I want to introduce you both to someone." With that she dragged them over to the corner where Nanao and Isane were speaking quietly.

She stopped just short of the Lieutenants and cleared her throat, both looked up and Nanao said, "hello Kushina. Are you enjoying your party?"

Kushina smiled at them and said, "yes, I am. However I'd like to introduce you to Kingsley Shacklebolt, he's an Auror and Percy Weasley, he works in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He's also Fred and George's older brother. Percy, Kingsley, I'd like you to meet Nanao Isa and Isane Kotetsu, the lieutenants of squads Eight and Four respectively. I'll leave you to get to know one another." With that she ducked away toward her cousin Ichigo and Byakuya.

Percy shrugged then turned to Isane and asked, "so what exactly does your squad specialize in?"

Isane blinked at the red haired man, and said, "healing. We're the hospital division so we specialize in healing."

Percy smiled at her then engaged her in a in-depth discussion on the merits of healing with Reiatsu verses magic.

Nanao watched as her friend was lured away from her while discussing healing, she then turned to the dark skinned man by her who was also watching the pair with bemusement. She said, "so what exactly does an Auror do anyway?"

Kingsley jumped a bit but turned to her and said, "we're there to keep the peace pretty much. It's our job to arrest people when they commit crimes, we also investigate crimes to find out who did it if we can. Sometimes it's easy to figure out who committed the crime other times it's like searching for a bone needle in a hay field."

She blinked a bit in shock but smiled in amusement, "that's a very interesting way of putting it."

* * *

Meanwhile Albus was speaking to the lieutenant of the second division, he looked up to see Minerva nearby and said, "ah, Minerva there you are. Come here please."

She raised her eyebrow at him but walked over and looked at the white haired man next to him curiously, Albus gestured to the man and said, "Minerva I'd like you to meet Chojiro Sasakibe. He's the lieutenant of the first division of the Gotei thirteen. Chojiro, meet the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall."

Minerva nodded at him in greeting and he gave her a short bow, he then murmured, "good day to you."

She smiled slightly at him and said, "a pleasure to meet you." Minerva then turned to Albus and said, "Kushina wished to speak with you. I believe she's currently in the kitchen."

Albus beamed at her and said, "then I'll leave you two to get to know one another. Chojiro will be staying at Hogwarts this upcoming school year, Minerva, I was wondering if you'd be so kind as to show him around the school."

She nodded and said, "but of course headmaster. I'd be delighted to show him the wonders of our school."

She then turned to Chojiro and asked, "so…what exactly will you be researching at Hogwarts?"

Chojiro blinked at her and replied, "Dementors. We've never encountered them before and according to Ichigo Kurosaki they seem to be a form of hollow. I will be researching as much materials as I can to try to discover their origins."

She hummed and said, "well Hogwarts does boast one of the most impressive libraries in the wizarding world."

As she spoke she led him to an out of the way corner that had a small table and a pair of chairs in it. She gestured of him to sit and said, "I was wondering what it was that you did. Kushina has explained the ranking system to the students and told me that the job of a squads lieutenant was very similar to my job as Deputy Headmistress."

He sat down and when she said that he blinked but answered, "I fill and file paperwork. I'm also in charge of making sure that the squad keeps up their training and making sure that the officers taking patrols are relieved on time."

* * *

While the pair were chatting, Albus had made his way to the kitchen and found Kushina working on making something with chocolate, he didn't quite know what it was so he asked, "what are you making Kushina?"

She looked over her shoulder as she got out butter, eggs, and cream from the fridge that had been put in during the time that Kreacher had remodeled the townhouse. She smiled at him and said, "homemade Twix bars. Of course I plan to make my own caramel for the bars as well as some bark candy."

Albus smiled at her with an excited expression on his face and said, "really? I tried the Twix bars once and I loved them. Your Papa might like them since they're chocolate…"

She chuckled and said, "I know that's why I'm making them."

At that she began to mix a dough, she preheated the oven to 150 degrees Celsius and placed the rack in the middle of the oven. She then used a spell to mix one cup of butter and three quarters of a cup of sugar until it was light and fluffy. She then added the single egg and beat it together until it was combined. After that she added the teaspoon of vanilla extract and once that was incorporated she added the two and one fourth cup of flour until the dough came together. Once that had been done she placed the dough in the fridge to let it cool until firm.

After it had cooled to the point that she could work it, she got out a cookie sheet and sprayed it liberally with a non stick baking spray. She then pressed the dough into the pan and made sure that there was a good layer on the bottom of the pan. She made sure that there wasn't too much room between the side of the pan and the dough. She then baked the dough for twenty to thirty minutes, she turned the baking sheet front to back about fifteen minutes into the baking process.

She then set the baking sheet off to the side to cool once it had completed cooking, she then began to make the caramel. She got out a three quart pan and combined three cups of granulated sugar, one cup of light corn syrup, one cup of cream, one cup of butter and one eighth of a teaspoon of salt to the pan. She then cast a spell on the pan to track the temperature it got up to, she then slowly brought the pan to a boil. She stirred it until the sugar began to boil, once it started boiling she took the wooden spoon out of the pan immediately.

She sometimes used a brush dipped in water to brush the sides of the pan, she was also gently swirled the pan through out the boiling process. Once the spell told her that the pan had reached the temperature between 250 degrees F and 266 degree F, she added one tablespoon of vanilla extract. She then poured the caramel immediately over the cookie that she just baked.

After the caramel had set she cut the cookie and caramel into half an inch wide strips and then cut the strips into two inch long pieces. Once she had finished cutting them she placed them into the freezer.

Albus cocked his head to the side and asked, "why did you do that?"

She smiled at him as she got out a pan and metal bowl, "to make it easier to dip them in the chocolate coating. The firmer the pieces are the better it will be."

With that she put an inch of water in the bottom of the pan and then placed the bowl in the pan, making sure to leave an inch of space between the bottom of the bowl and the top of the water. She then took out a large bar of Honeyduke's finest chocolate and chopped it into medium sized pieces. She took about a quarter of the chopped chocolate and set it aside. Once again she cast the temperature sensing spell on the pan and bowl, she then picked up a spatula and poured the larger amount of chocolate into the bowl on top of the sauce pan.

She brought the water in the pan to a simmer, every time it seemed as if it would boil she brought the temperature down a notch, she stirred the chocolate constantly until it melted smoothly. She kept the chocolate on the stove until the charm told her that the temperature of the chocolate was 45 degrees Celsius. She then removed the bowl from the pan and carefully wiped the steam from the bottom of the bowl.

She then placed the chocolate she set aside into the melted chocolate and stirred it until the chocolate was smooth. She then kept stirring it until the charm said that the chocolate had reached 30 degrees Celsius. She then cast a charm on the chocolate to keep it at that exact temperature.

Once that was done she took out the cookie and caramel pieces from the freezer and began to dip them into the chocolate coating. She placed the candy onto another cookie sheet covered with wax paper. She let the chocolate set before sticking them in the fridge to harden further.

"How long do they have to cool before they can be eaten?" Albus asked eagerly.

Kushina glanced over her left shoulder as she put the utensils in the sink to be washed and said thoughtfully, "I'd say at least thirty minutes. You could eat them now but the chocolate wouldn't be completely hard."

As she put them into the freezer, Albus then asked, "so what did you want to speak with me about?"

She looked up at him as she began to wipe down the counter, "I was wondering what you would be having the Arrancar doing while they are at Hogwarts. I highly doubt Tia and Nel want to just sit around and do nothing. I thinks Coyote would gladly just laze about and do nothing."

Albus frowned and said, "hmm, perhaps we could have them help out the teachers on occasion, if nothing else they can help you with your class!" He pointed the last bit out cheerfully as she set a plate of Lemon Bars in front of him.

She then turned back to the sink and began to hand wash the dishes and utensils she used to make the snacks. After the dishes were washed and resting on the counter to dry she started to put away the ingredients she didn't use.

Yazu and Karin came into the kitchen just as she was putting away the flour, she looked up and smiled at the pair, "hello you two. What brings you in here?"

Karin groaned as she sat down next to Albus, who was happily munching on the lemon bars that Kushina had just given him. She muttered something incomprehensible as she stared down at the table. Kushina then turned to the blond haired twin and raised an eyebrow in askance, Yazu answered, "Dad. He's acting obnoxious again, you'd think after we know that he's a shinigami he'd act a little less like a buffoon and more like a responsible adult."

Karin sat up and pointed at Yazu while she said, "ditto, what she said." She then dropped her head back down to where her forehead was touching the table.

Kushina chuckled lightly before she commented, "that's your dad for you. Uncle Isshin has always been a little crazy. Besides if he started acting different, you three would think something weird had happened to him."

Yazu sighed and nodded sadly, "you're right we would."

Karin looked up and scowled but also nodded in agreement with Kushina's words.

Albus chuckled at the pair and commented, "I'm sure that you're correct about that Kushina. However he also probably acts that way on purpose, after all, if even the people who know he's a shinigami cannot truly believe it when he acts like that. Therefore, he can easily take anyone off guard when they underestimate him, that's one of the reasons I hired him to help Madam Pomfrey this year."

Kushina smirked at him and commented over her right shoulder as she exited the kitchen, "that and you didn't want him calling you all the time about his precious baby girls."

Albus nodded slightly and murmured to himself before taking a bite of the lemon bar in front of him, "true. Very true."

* * *

Kushina walked out into the living room and she glanced to where she last saw Chad and Shunsui, to her surprise only Jushiro and Shunsui were standing there. She then looked around the room and found Chad standing next to Uryu who had a bemused look on his face as he watched Grimmjow talking to Fred and George. Apparently the panther hollow enjoyed the occasional prank or two, since as she walked past them she heard Grimmjow telling them about how he had dyed Tosen's clothes garish colors and no one told the blind man about it.

She laughed lowly at the thought, from what the Visoreds had told her he was a bit of a stick in the mud and he had stabbed Kensei and his entire division in the back. He was the reason that Shuhei had been so skittish of his own Zanpakuto, for the Kings sake! She had sidled up by the pair and teasingly whispered in Uryu's right ear, "admiring the scenery?"

The blue eyed teen jumped startled by the whisper and hissed, "just what do you mean by that!"

Kushina smirked at the archer and drawled, "I'm just saying that you seem pretty fascinated by the trio over there and since the twins are claimed by Yumichika… Then the only one you can be ogling is Grimmjow!"

To her and Chad's amusement the Quincy began to blush and look around the room to avoid looking two of them in the eye. She snickered and said gleefully, "I was right! You do like him!"

Uryu huffed and glared at the pair before he said haughtily, "I don't have to put up with this." With that he turned away from them and marched over to Grimmjow where, to the amusement of Ichigo and Kushina, the Archer grabbed Grimmjow by the collar and dragged the panther hollow to the other room.

The blue haired man yelped in surprise and asked while being dragged, "what's going on?" However not once did he protest the manhandling that Uryu was doing, actually he seemed a bit bemused by it, as if he couldn't believe that someone that much slighter than himself was daring to do that.

Kushina's lips twitched and after the door had closed behind the pair she began laughing, golden eyes sparkling in laughter. She heard a low laugh from beside her and glanced over to see Chad smiling slightly as he laughed. She cocked her head just enough to look over at Shunsui to see him staring at Chad. She smirked and asked wickedly, "sooo. What have you been up to Chad?"

Chad's eyes widened at the question, he then glanced away, "nothing much. Why do you ask?"

She smirked wryly and said, "maybe because you and Shunsui aren't avoiding each other anymore? That and he's looking at you as if he can't take his eyes off you even if he tried?"

Chad blushed slightly and asked, "is it that obvious?"

She nodded as she took a sip from the Butterbeer that Kreacher had brought her shortly after Uryu had dragged Grimmjow to the study. She glanced at the stricken looking teen and reassured him, "it's only obvious to those who are looking for it. I'm the one who had to give Shunsui a talk about it, so I was pretty much looking for it."

He sighed in relief, before she commented, "of course those who know you pretty well can see it too." At that comment he blanched in horror, she patted him on the hand, "hate to be the one to tell you this… But you and Shunsui were kind of obvious in your denials, you know. What with the avoiding, the blushing, the quietness," she waved her hand to encompass the unvoiced giveaways. "And that's just where you were concerned!" She chirped at him while grinning.

He groaned and covered his face with his right hand before he asked, "what about Shunsui? How did he give himself away?"

She smirked at the embarrassed teen, "perhaps because he actually talked about you? Or the fact that he bragged about the dent to his division that you put in it? Then there was the fact that he actually did his paperwork because being outside reminded him of you? Of course there is also the fact that both sides of his zanpakuto spirit liked you…" She then stared at the wide eyed man and asked, "do I need to continue?"

Chad shook his head mutely before he said quietly, "thanks."

She looked at him with her right eyebrow raised and asked, "for what?"

He looked down at his drink and murmured, "for getting me and Shunsui to stop being so afraid. For getting Shunsui to realize I wasn't adverse to it, for getting me to realize that Shunsui was just as nervous as I was."

She patted him on the shoulder and said, "you're welcome, Sado." She then glared after Uryu and Grimmjow before she muttered, "now if only the rest of the people I've talked to would get off their behinds and do the same thing."

He blinked in puzzlement as she walked away from him, _'I wonder who she was talking about,'_ he thought to himself.

Kushina walked over to Ron and Hermione, only to find out that Hermione was discussing their OWL results, Rukia and Kenpachi were listening with bemusement written all over their faces. They had received their results on the twenty second of July, Hermione had handed the sheet of parchment to Kushina the only thing she said was, "tell me how I did. I can't bear to look."

Kushina had looked the sheet over and said, "well apart from your E in Defense Against the Dark Arts you scored ten out of Eleven Outstanding's."

Hermione pouted slightly and Ron gaped at her before he said, "you cannot possibly be disappointed. You got eleven OWLS and ten of those were Outstandings!"

Rukia asked Ron, "how many did you pass?"

Ron smiled down at the dark haired shinigami and said, "Eleven. I failed Divination but then again I never really expected to pass that one. Quite frankly I was surprised to have gotten as many as I did. I was sure I was going to fail History of Magic." He shook his head in disbelief.

Kushina slapped him on the shoulder and said, "you weren't the only one who was sure they would fail that class."

Kenpachi cocked his head in askance at his sparring partner, "why do you say that? Who else thought they would fail?"

Kushina rolled her eyes and took a drink of her Butterbeer before she answered, "because Binns is the single most boring professor to have ever taught in the history of teaching. As for who else thought they would fail… Every student who wasn't in Ravenclaw and weren't history buffs." She then turned to Rukia and said, "Ron got six Exceeds Expectations, four Acceptables and one Outstanding. All in all he did rather well."

Ron snorted and said, "compared to you. I could have done much better."

She shook her head and ignored Ron's muttering, Hermione however agreed with Ron. Kushina looked at her in disbelief, "for heavens sake Hermione. You got more Outstandings than I did!"

Hermione smirked and said, "true, but you did get six Exceeds Expectations, three Acceptables and two Outstandings. One in DADA and the other in Muggle Studies, the same that Ron got his Outstanding in. I'm not surprised he got his O in that subject what with the time he spent in the Muggle World during that summer. And no one is surprised that you got an O in DADA."

Kushina tried to brush aside her prowess in DADA, "that was only because I performed the Patronus Charm. I'm sure if you guys had cast that spell then you guys would have gotten an O in DADA as well."

At that both Ron and Hermione snorted skeptically and Ron said, "yeah right. Kushina, you are the best at knowing spells and counter spells to Jinxes, Hexes and Curses."

Kenpachi leaned against the couch back that was behind him and asked, "I know you can drop subjects after the OWL Exams. So which ones did you all decide to drop?"

Ron looked at the large scarred man and said, "Astronomy, Divination and History of Magic, Herbology is needed along with Potions for being an Auror. Transfiguration can help during duels, Charms are used both offensively and defensively, while Care of Magical Creatures can teach you to expect the unexpected since it currently being taught by Hagrid."

Hermione nodded and said, "I dropped the same as Ron, however I also dropped Arithmancy. What about you Kushina? Which ones did you decide to drop?"

Kushina sighed and said, "Astronomy, Divination, and History of Magic. I need the rest if I want to be an Auror or Professor."

Both Ron and Hermione stared at their friend and asked in chorus, "Professor?"

Kushina nodded, "I rather enjoy teaching and according to Professor McGonagall I seem to be good at it…"

Hermione blinked at the red headed girls insecurity, and said, "you're a terrific teacher, Kushina. Everyone whose taken your class has learned a lot, some of the stuff you taught us has helped during our other classes."

Ron looked between the two girls and decided to change the subject, so he asked Kushina, "so how did your exam go?"

Both Rukia and Kenpachi shared a puzzled glance but Kushina answered, "fine. The Healer was a bit surprised at my pendant that I got from the Unicorns but he declared me to be untouched. Actually he said that without casting any spells on me or doing an exam. When I asked him why he didn't he told me that my pendant will change color the moment I'm bedded for the first time. The fact that it was the same color as a new born unicorn foal meant that I've never been touched beyond kissing." She played with the gold colored carving gently and smiled at the gob-smacked look on Hermione's face.

Ron furrowed his brow and asked, "so what'll happen when you do finally marry Kisuke? What will happen to the pendant?"

Kushina laughed and explained, "the pendant will turn to a pale cream if the coupling was consensual. If the coupling was against my will then the pendant turns pitch black, however no matter what, the pendant means that I'm declared a friend of a Blessing and thus will be allowed near any herd."

Hermione stared at her and said in a deadpan tone, "so in other words everyone will know that you've had sex when you actually had it."

Kushina nodded and said cheerfully, "pretty much!"

Kisuke popped up behind her at that moment and asked, "so what are you five talking about?" As he spoke he closed his fan and wrapped his arms around her waist then rested his chin on her left shoulder.

Hermione, Ron and Rukia jumped in shock, they hadn't expected him to just appear out of the blue like that. Hermione answered him after a few moments to calm her heart, "just our OWL results."

Kisuke's grey-blue eyes lit up and he said, "really? Can you tell me what you got in which subject?"

Kushina laughed and said, "I can do one better than that. I have our results right here," she pulled out three sheets of parchment from inside her coat and handed them to Kisuke. He took them from her and began reading,

_**Dear Ms. Potter-Lupin,** _

_**We are pleased to inform you that you've passed your OWLs and have enclosed your resulting scores. Please send a list of classes that you will be taking to the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts no later than August 19** _ _**th** _ _**. Once you've chosen your classes you're school list will be sent to you.** _

_**Sincerely,** _

_**Professor Griselda Marchbanks, CDMG, APMO, fdBB** _

_**Head of the Wizarding Examinations Authority** _

_**Elder of the Wizengamot** _

**OWL RESULTS**

**Pass Grades**

Outstanding (O)

Exceeds Expectations (E)

Acceptable (A)

**Fail Grades**

Poor (P)

Dreadful (D)

Troll (T)

**Ancient Runes: Total Score:** E

Practical Score: N/A

Theoretical Score: E

**Astronomy: Total Score:** A

Practical Score: A

Theoretical Score: A

**Arithmancy: Total Score:** A

Practical Score: A

Theoretical Score: A

**Care of Magical Creatures: Total Score:** E

Practical Score: E

Theoretical Score: A

**Charms: Total Score:** E

Practical Score: E

Theoretical Score: A

**Defense Against the Dark Arts: Total Score:** O+

Practical Score: O+

Theoretical Score: O

**Divination: Total Score:** P

Practical Score: P

Theoretical Score: A

**Herbology: Total Score:** E

Practical Score: E

Theoretical Score: A

**History of Magic: Total Score:** A

Practical Score: N/A

Theoretical Score: A

**Muggle Studies: Total Score:** O

Practical Score: N/A

Theoretical Score: O

**Potions: Total Score:** E

Practical Score: E

Theoretical Score: O

**Transfigurations: Total Score:** E

Practical Score: E

Theoretical Score: E

**Total OWL Score is Eleven OWLS**

Kisuke hummed and said, "you did very well, my dearest."

He then pulled out Ron's OWL results and began to read them, the only thing different from Kushina's letter was his name and title so he skipped that part and read the scores.

**OWL RESULTS**

**Pass Grades**

Outstanding (O)

Exceeds Expectations (E)

Acceptable (A)

**Fail Grades**

Poor (P)

Dreadful (D)

Troll (T)

**Ancient Runes: Total Score:** A

Practical Score: N/A

Theoretical Score: A

**Astronomy: Total Score:** A

Practical Score: A

Theoretical Score: A

**Arithmancy: Total Score:** A

Practical Score: N/A

Theoretical Score: A

**Care of Magical Creatures: Total Score:** E

Practical Score: E

Theoretical Score: A

**Charms: Total Score:** E

Practical Score: E

Theoretical Score: E

**Defense Against the Dark Arts: Total Score:** E

Practical Score: E

Theoretical Score: E

**Divination: Total Score:** D

Practical Score: D

Theoretical Score: P

**Herbology: Total Score:** E

Practical Score: E

Theoretical Score: A

**History of Magic: Total Score:** A

Practical Score: N/A

Theoretical Score: A

**Muggle Studies: Total Score:** O

Practical Score: N/A

Theoretical Score: O

**Potions: Total Score:** E

Practical Score: E

Theoretical Score: A

**Transfigurations: Total Score:** E

Practical Score: E

Theoretical Score: O

**Total OWL Score is Eleven OWLS**

He beamed at Ron and said, "you did very well. You only failed one class and I think even I would have failed that one!" He then pulled out Hermione's scores and whistled lowly just at reading her final score. He commented, "all three of you got eleven OWLS. Not bad," he then began to read the parchment sheet in depth.

**OWL RESULTS**

**Pass Grades**

Outstanding (O)

Exceeds Expectations (E)

Acceptable (A)

**Fail Grades**

Poor (P)

Dreadful (D)

Troll (T)

**Ancient Runes: Total Score:** O

Practical Score: N/A

Theoretical Score: O

**Astronomy: Total Score:** O

Practical Score: O

Theoretical Score: O

**Arithmancy: Total Score:** O

Practical Score: N/A

Theoretical Score: O

**Care of Magical Creatures: Total Score:** O

Practical Score: O

Theoretical Score: E

**Charms: Total Score:** O

Practical Score: O

Theoretical Score: O

**Defense Against the Dark Arts: Total Score:** E

Practical Score: E

Theoretical Score: O

**Divination: Total Score:** N/A

Practical Score: N/A

Theoretical Score: N/A

**Herbology: Total Score:** O

Practical Score: O

Theoretical Score: O

**History of Magic: Total Score:** O

Practical Score: N/A

Theoretical Score: O

**Muggle Studies: Total Score:** O

Practical Score: N/A

Theoretical Score: O

**Potions: Total Score:** O

Practical Score: O

Theoretical Score: O

**Transfigurations: Total Score:** O

Practical Score: O

Theoretical Score: O

**Total OWL Score is Eleven OWLS**

Kisuke blinked in shock and exclaimed, "you almost had a perfect sweep if O's. If you had gotten an O in Defense Against the Dark Arts you would have had Eleven Outstandings."

Hermione pouted and said, "I know. But Defense isn't my best subject. That's Kushina's area of expertise."


	3. Chapter Two: Of Second Meetings and Research

**Chapter Two:** **Of Second Meetings and Research**

* * *

 

Amelia Bones stared down blankly at the letter she had received from Albus Dumbledore, in it he requested that she assign an escort to three people. Who would shortly be arriving in the Atrium, she sighed and thought carefully about who to assign to these people. Rufus Scrimgeour was standing off to the side he had been in the office giving her a report about the search for the escapees from Azkaban when the letter had arrived. She handed the letter to him to read, he snorted at the formality of it but nodded when she asked, "so should we?"

She snorted and said, "could you go wait for them to arrive then bring them down here to meet with their escorts?"

He nodded then gave her a small bow before he said, "of course."

With that he turned away from her to head down to the Atrium. However he stopped when she said, "do me a favor and tell Percy, Kingsley and Tonks to come to my office."

He briefly nodded then exited the door.

He paused by Percy's desk and said, "Mr. Weasley, Madam Bones requests your prescence in her office."

Percy looked up from the report that he was looking over and said, "oh, of course. Thank you for telling me, Auror Scrimgeour."

Rufus nodded then walked over to the area where Kingsley and Tonks had their office. The pair shared an office since they had been teamed up to find Sirius Black before it had been proven that he was innocent. After Black's innocence had been proven the pair requested to stay partners, both Madam Bones and Scrimgeour approved the request, since Kingsley was used to Tonks clumsiness and Tonks was able to convince Kingsley that he did need to get out of the office once and a while.

He looked in the pairs office to find that the two were discussing where the escapees could possibly be hiding. He listened with bemusement as Tonks adamantly defended her opinion, "I'm telling you Kingsley they're hiding on the Moors! I just know it!"

Kingsley snorted and asked sardonically, "oh, and why do you think they're hiding on the moors?"

Tonks changed her hair color to a neon blue and her eyes to bright yellow as she boldly declared, "because it would be the last place anyone would look for them!" She then dropped her hand that she had held up dramatically while declaring that and said, "okay, I suppose that the Moors wouldn't be the last place anyone would look for them." She paused for a moment before she cheerfully said, "the last place anyone would look for them would be Azkaban!"

Kingsley groaned and muttered, "why did I request her as a partner again?"

At the Scrimgeour chuckled and said, "I have no clue. But she's rather good for you, and you're good for her. Your success rate is equal to Auror Potter and Black along with Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom."

Both looked up startled at his, to their view, sudden appearance. Rufus laughed again and said, "Madam Bones requests both of your presences in her office. Immediately."

Both nodded then got up and walked out of their office Tonks glanced after Scrimgeour and saw him getting into the lift. She shrugged and followed Kingsley to their bosses office.

* * *

Percy had gotten up after Rufus waked away and he put away the, in his humbled opinion, boring report, he then walked over to Madam Bones office and after knocking walked inside. He said, "you wanted to see me Madam Bones?"

She nodded and then pointed at one of the chairs in front of her desk and said, "yes. But for now have a seat, we'll be joined by two others shortly."

Percy nodded before taking a seat in the foremost right chair. Five minutes later both heard a knock at the door before it opened, Percy saw Aurors Tonks and Shacklebolt walk into the room. He nodded in greeting to them both, Madam Bones looked up at them and said, "thanks for coming. Have a seat, you two."

Shortly after they took their seats Kingsley asked, "what can we do for you, Madam Bones?"

She held up the letter and said, "I just received this from Headmaster Dumbledore." She then handed it over to Kingsley, who after reading it passed it to Tonks who then passed it to Percy.

Percy looked it over,

_**Dear Amelia,** _

_**I hate to ask a favor of you, but three of the Shinigami assigned to the Wizarding world need to have guides. One has asked to see how our hospital is run and would like an escort that would not mind going there often. Another wishes to see how we run certain operations, while the last would like to simply explore our world.** _

_**They will be arriving in the Atrium at precisely ten o'clock on August 15** _ _**th** _ _**, 1996.** _

_**Yours Sincerely,** _

_**Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore** _

_**Headmaster of Hogwarts** _

_**Order of Merlin, First Class** _

_**Grand Sorcerer** _

_**Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards** _

_**Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot** _

He chuckled and said, "that sounds like the Headmaster alright." He then looked up at Madam Bones and stated more than asked, "I can presume that you wish us to take the positions?"

She nodded and said, "yes. That's what I'm asking of you, know this, if you accept this assignment you'll need to be constantly near them. That is unless they or you request that you be taken from the position of escort and guard." She then looked gravely at all three of them and asked seriously, "do you accept the assignment?"

Kingsley nodded and said, "of course."

Both Tonks and Percy also chime their agreement to the assignment.

Amelia then leaned back and sighed in relief, she wouldn't have forced them to do it if they didn't want to, but she was glad they accepted it. Six minutes after the three accepted the assignment the door to her office opened up and three people entered the office. There was two women and one man, the man had long white hair and green eyes, he was wearing black robes with a white robe over it. The two women were also wearing black robes, one had short silver hair and was rather tall, the other had black hair held up in a bun and she was wearing glasses.

Amelia nodded to Scrimgeour and said, "thank you for escorting them here, you're dismissed." Rufus merely nodded in response and left the office.

After Rufus left the room, Amelia stood up behind her desk and said, "good morning. My name is Amelia Bones, I'm Head of the DMLE, which stands for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Could I have your names? I'm afraid Albus refrained from writing them down."

The white haired man chuckled and said in a low smooth voice, "that's fine. My name is Jushiro Ukitake, Captain of squad thirteen." With that he gave them a small bow and stepped back.

After he was finished the dark haired woman stepped forward and said, "my name is Nanao Isa, I'm the Lieutenant of squad eight."

The silver haired woman then stepped forward and said, "and I'm Isane Kotetsu. Lieutenant of squad four."

Amelia nodded to them in greeting and acknowledgement, she then gestured to the other three in the room and said, "this is Kingsley Shacklebolt, one of my senior Aurors. Percy Weasley, one of my junior undersecretaries and finally Nymphadora Tonks," at that point Tonks made a noise of protest and Amelia corrected, "who prefers to be called by her last name."

Tonks huffed and said moodily, "so would you if your fool of a mother named you Nymphadora!"

The three shinigami chuckled quietly, Tonks pouted slightly and carefully snuck peeks at Jushiro. Madam Bones looked at the pouting junior Auror and said, "now that everyone has been introduced… Does anyone have a preference of who is assigned to whom?"

Isane raised her hand and after Madam Bones raised the eyebrow above her monocle she asked, "could I be assigned to Percy? That is if you don't object?" At that she glanced anxiously at the red haired man who shook his head.

Percy smiled at her and said, "I have no objections to being your escort, Isane." He then glanced at Madam Bones for permission, she nodded then marked it down.

Kingsley looked at the other two Shinigami and turned to Jushiro and said, "no offense but I think I would prefer to escort Nanao."

Jushiro laughed and said, "I have no objections. I was actually going to request Auror Tonks, from what Kushina has told me, she has a rather refreshing personality." At that comment Tonks' eyes widened in shock and she blushed while looking down at the ground.

Kingsley noticed both the look and the blush and inwardly vowed to tease her later about it. Amelia made the notations in both her personnel files and in the files that she made for the Shinigami which would protect them should they have to defend themselves later on.

Kingsley then looked down at Nanao and asked, "what would you like to see first?"

She adjusted her glasses and said, "I haven't been in Diagon Alley…But I would like a tour of the Ministry. I want to see how different it's layout is to my division."

He smiled down at her and said, "then that's what I'll show you." He then looked up at Madam Bones and asked, "that is if I have permission to show you around?" He raised an eyebrow in askance at his boss.

Amelia smirked at the dark bald Auror and said, "permission granted. In fact you all have permission to take them into the Department of Mysteries if they want to see it."

He nodded before gesturing for Nanao to proceed him out of the door. As they left they heard as Tonks asked Jushiro, "so what would you like to see?"

Jushiro chuckled and said, "I'm rather curious about this Alley I've heard so much about from Kushina."

Tonks laughed and said, "well, then so long as Madam Bones doesn't mind?" There was a brief pause before she continued, "I'd be happy to give you a tour."

Any further conversation was cut off by the heavy wooden door that had runic charms on it for privacy. He glanced over at the seemingly young woman who he knew, thanks to Sirius, was actually several centuries old. He watched her as she looked around the large area just outside the office, after allowing her to look around he cleared his throat. Once he'd gotten her attention he asked her, "so, where would you like to start your tour?"

Nanao cocked her head to the left and after several moments queried, "how many floors are there?"

"Ten," Kingsley answered promptly.

She smiled at how quick he answered before she asked curiously, "what floor are we currently on?"

As the pair talked he slowly steered them to his and Tonks' office to pick up his cloak. He answered her question as he opened the door to the office, "Level Two. The Atrium is on Level Eight, as you go deeper the numbers go down."

As he picked up the cloak from his chair he winced slightly, hoping she wouldn't be upset at the news she was about to receive. "You won't be able to visit Level One, that's where the Minister's office is along with a majority of the other major offices."

To his surprise she didn't become upset at all, instead she nodded before she murmured, "understandable. Your Minister isn't selected like our Captains are, after all." As she had spoken she stood in the center of the room by the winged back chair in front of Kingsley's desk.

Kingsley looked up at her curiously and asked, "what do you mean by that?"

Nanao smiled at him impishly and adjusted her glasses before she said, "anyone who wishes to become a Captain must prove their worthiness of the position. You can do that via three ways, number one is the Captain Proficiency Exam. It's a test which requires the ability to perform Bankai, nearly all existing Captains gained the title via this method. At least three captains including the Head Captain have to witness the test." As she spoke she glanced at Kingsley who was now leaning against the front of his desk listening intently to her.

She continued her explanation, "the second method is Personal Recommendation. You need a recommendation from at least six captains and approval from at least three of the remaining seven. The last method is the one that Kenpachi Zaraki used to gain his position."

Kingsley looked at her and asked, "which is…?"

Nanao looked at him seriously before she stated, "Trial by Combat. You need to defeat the Captain of the division you wish to lead in a one on one battle with at least two hundred witnesses from that Captains division. Trial by Combat is seen as the least refined method of gaining the Captains positions because it doesn't require the person to know Bankai. In fact it was only recently that Captain Zaraki was even interested in learning his Zanpakuto's name."

She shook her head wryly and looked up at Kingsley who had gotten up from the desk, he walked past her to go to the door. As he did so he subtly took in her scent. She smelled like paper, ink and inexplicably the smell of Camellia's. Kingsley only knew what they smelled like since his mother loved the flower. What Kingsley didn't notice was that as he took in her scent she was doing the same with him.

To her surprise he smelled of cloves, allspice and funnily enough lemon blossoms, she knew what lemon blossoms smelled like only thanks to Lisa Yadomaru, who wore the scent. After so many years Nanao associated the scent with comfort and love, because Lisa did love her like a little sister, after all.

As he began to open the door Nanao motioned for him to wait, although puzzled he did as she asked and watched as Nanao reached up with her right arm. She winced slightly as she began to try to remove the pins holding up her bun. At his quizzical look she said, "my bun is too tight. It's beginning to irritate me to the point that I'd have a headache in a few hours."

After watching as she struggled to remove the pins with only her right arm, he offered, "I can help if you'd like." He tactfully decided not to mention that he'd a ex-girlfriend how had him help her remove the pins from her hair that she used to style her hair.

Nanao paused in the middle of pulling one of the pin out of her bun, she stared at him searchingly before she smiled gratefully at him and turned her back toward him. As she did so she murmured, "thank you. It's a little difficult for me to undo the bun when I have Isane help me put it up."

As he teased out one of the pins he hummed and asked lowly, "why is that?"

She turned her head slightly to the right to look at him, he could see the barest glimpse of a smile as she said, "because neither Isane nor her sister have long hair. Due to that neither of them know how to properly secure long hair into a bun. Unfortunately, she was my only choice this morning…"

Kingsley teased out three more pins before he asked, "dare I ask why you couldn't put up your hair yourself?"

Nanao sighed and said, "because I've been ordered not to lift my left arm over my head due to an injury I received in a spar."

Kingsley froze at that comment and Nanao glanced back at him wondering why he froze, when she saw the worried look on his face she hurriedly explained, "it's nothing serious. It's only the position of the wound that prevents me from lifting my arm too high, it's just unfortunate that I need both hands to style my hair. Since I was forbidden to use my left I asked Isane to help me with it this morning since she was the only other person around."

He hummed in acknowledgement as he finished teasing out the last few pins, as he did so he commented cheerfully, "I'm glad I have no hair to speak of then." At that moment he pulled the last pin out and after he checked to make sure he got them all he allowed her hair to tumble down her back. He blinked a bit in shock, her hair reached all the way down to the base of her spine, he carefully stepped away from her and asked, "where do you want to put the pins?"

She frowned slightly as she patted the robes she was wearing and said, "hand them to me." After he handed them over she took out a handkerchief and wrapped the pins in it before placing the bundle in the pocket she removed the handkerchief from.

He raised an eyebrow at her and said, "you know, you never answered my question." At her curious look he elaborated, "where do you want to start your tour at?"

She smiled and said, "we might as well start here and work our way up." He gave her a bow and cheerfully led her around the Auror office before leading her over to the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office.

He opened the door and said with a flourishing gesture, "this is the Misuse of Muggle Artifact office, it's led by Arthur Weasley."

Nanao looked it over and frowned slightly before she said, "it's rather small. I would think that the office would be larger since they do keep the secret of the magical world from escaping."

Kingsley nodded in agreement, "so you would think. But unfortunately the current Minister doesn't agree."

Nanao frowned but allowed Kingsley to lead her to the elevators and down to the third level. As they stepped off the lift he said, "this is the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. It houses the divisions of Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, Obliviator Headquarters and the Muggle-Worthy Excuses Board." After they walked around and Kingsley introduced her to several people he walked her back to the elevators and headed up to the next floor.

As they got off the lift he muttered, "no one really likes this floor." At her questioning glance he elaborated, "well at least anyone who isn't predigest does anyway." He led her around, as they walked he explained the floors purpose, "this floor houses the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. It houses the Beast, Being, and Spiritual Divisions along with the Goblin Liaison Office and the Pest Advisory Board."

She stared at him and asked in a deadpan voice, "the Pest Advisory Board?"

Kingsley laughed and said jokingly, "I never said the Ministry made sense."

Nanao snorted quietly before she said, "no kidding, not even the Seireitei is that redundant."

Kingsley shrugged then looked down into her blue eyes as he asked, "do you want to go to the next level?"

She nodded as she headed toward the lifts, he followed behind her and took them to level five. As they stepped off the elevator, Kingsley commented absently, "this is where Percy began his Ministry career." He paused briefly before he continued, "the Department of International Magical Cooperation is housed on this floor."

She listened intently as they walked to each of the doors and as he pointed at each door he told her what division lay behind it. "ICW's British Seats are just beyond that door while behind that one," he pointed just a little ways down the hall, "is the door that leads to the International Magical Office of Law." He then gestured to the opposite side of the hall and said, "and behind that door lies the International Trading Standard Body."

She stared at the first door he had gestured to and then glanced at him while she asked, "what does ICW stand for?"

Kingsley stared back at her for a few moments before he replied, "it stands for International Confederation of Wizards."

She hummed for a few moments then headed back to the lifts, after he followed her, they got onto one of the elevators and went down to the next level. After they exited the lift he showed her around and quietly murmured into her ear. "This level houses the Department of Magical Transportation, which in turn houses the Apparition Test Center and the Office of Broomstick Regulation Control. As well as the Floo Network Authority and the Portkey Office."

As they walked back to the elevators she asked curiously, "what is a portkey?"

He paused by the lifts and after several moments of consideration, explained as best as he could. "A Portkey can be any object so long as it's not alive, the object has a spell cast on it that allows it to instantly transport it's user to a set location. Some Portkey's are touch activated, others are on timers and will appear at the destination even if no one is holding it. Yet more are password activated, there are several old families who have Portkey's that take them to their ancestral homes." He looked down at her and asked, "does that help?"

She nodded and got on the elevator to head to level seven, as they stepped off the lift onto level seven Kingsley smirked before he said, "this is the Department of Magical Games and Sports. This level houses the British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters as well as the Official Gobstones Club." He paused for a moment before he added with a quick glanced at her, "it also houses the Ludicrous Patents Office."

To his amusement she stared at him in disbelief for several moments before she shook her head and turned back to the lifts. As they entered the lift Kingsley commented, "we'll skip level eight for now since we'll be leaving the ministry that way."

Nanao looked at him curiously before she asked, "what is on level nine anyway?"

As the lift doors opened into a corridor he answered her as he led the way down the corridor, "the Department of Mysteries."

He opened the only door in the hall and gestured for her to proceed him, she walked to the center of the room and turned to look at him. She watched as he put an object on the door that spelled out 'Exit' before he closed the door and quickly made his way to her side. She was a bit puzzled at first, however shortly after he closed the door the wall of the room began to spin and got so fast that the doors were a blur. After several moments the wall started to slow and finally came to a stop, if it wasn't for the sign Kingsley had placed on the door she wouldn't have known where the exit was.

While Nanao was regaining her bearings Kingsley walked to the door that was one down from the exit on the right. He opened the door and walked in, he was careful to leave the door open when he went inside. She could hear him talking to someone, "what brings you here, Shacklebolt?"

She heard Kingsley answer back, "Madam Bones asked me to give a tour to Lieutenant Nanao Isa of Squad Eight from the Seireitei. She said that you gave permission for us to see the Department."

She heard a creak of a chair being moved or leaned back into, "that is correct. I did tell her that. Alright, you can take her on a tour but I suggest that you not bring her in here nor into the room between the office and the exit. Also one of the doors is locked, leave it alone."

"Yes, sir." Kingsley answered, shortly after that Kingsley returned to the circular room, while he had been talking to whoever that was Nanao had taken a look around and noticed that excluding the exit there was eleven other doors. Even if they couldn't go into three of them that still left eight doors to explore.

He closed the door behind him and once the room stopped spinning again, he pointed at the door next to the exit on the right and said, "that's the interrogation room of the Unspeakable's, it hasn't been used in at least fifty years though."

Nanao looked at him curiously before she asked, "what or who is an Unspeakable?"

Kingsley chuckled and said, "Unspeakable is the title given to those who work in the Department of Mysteries. The head of the Department of Mysteries, is Croaker, or at least he is as far as anyone can guess. The Department of Mysteries doesn't truly answer to the Ministry of Magic, as it's not an offshoot department, it's supposedly existed longer than the Ministry has."

She blinked and said, "oh, well that's interesting."

Kingsley looked down at her and asked, "would you like me to tell you what's behind each door and let you choose which one to explore?"

She thought carefully for a few moments before she nodded, "yes please. It seems that it would go much faster that way."

He nodded and said, "alright then. We'll start with facing the exit, as you already know the two to the immediate right are the Interrogation Rooms and the Offices of the Unspeakables. The one to the immediate left is the Hall of Oaths, it records every oath ever made, however the oaths can only be read after the death of all the parties privy to the oath. The door to it's left is the Ward Creation and Breaking Room." At that he turned around to where his back was to the exit, he was still standing in the middle of the room however.

He pointed to the door directly across from the exit, "that room is the Time Room, just past the time room is the Hall of Prophecies. Only the people who the prophecy concerns can pick up a prophecy sphere." He then pointed to the door on the left of the Time room and said, "that room is the Planets Room, and the one to it's left is the Death Room. The death room contains the method of execution that the Wizarding world used until the discovery of the Dementors." He shuddered before he commented, "I'm not sure I agree with either method. If you want to kill someone, use the darn Killing Curse, at least it's painless and instantaneous."

Nanao sighed and said, "I understand. My captain and Captain Ukitake were forced to destroy the Seireitei's only method of execution to save Rukia from being killed. To die by the Sokyoku is not painless but Rukia would have gladly died by it to keep Ichigo and his friends alive."

Kingsley shook of his melancholy and gestured to the immediate right of the Time Room and said, "that room is locked. I think it's been locked since before Croaker worked for the department, actually."

She laughed slightly before Kingsley gestured to the room to the right of the locked door and said, "I have absolutely no idea what that room is called but…I really have no desire to find out."

She shrugged after he didn't elaborate and asked, "what about the other two rooms?"

"Well to our right is the Experimental Charms Department. Lily Potter used to work there, she created many a charm for them and reconfigured several others." Kingsley stated almost proudly, he smiled down at her, "that department actually created the Patronus Charm, which is what most use to drive back the Dementors."

She blinked in shock and Kingsley gestured to the last door while he said, "behind that door lies the Library of the Unspeakables. It's said that their collection is one of the largest in the world."

He watched her gain an eager look on her face and he commented, "since you'll probably want to spend quite some time in there I'll go ahead and tell you what's on level ten." Once he knew he had her attention he explained, "level ten is where the courtrooms are as well as the meeting hall for the Wizengamot." He then smirked down at her and asked, "so what room do you want to explore first?"

She grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the Library room.

* * *

While Nanao was beginning her tour of the Ministry of Magic, Isane and Percy had already left for Saint Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Tonks turned to Jushiro and asked cheerfully, "so, shall we start your tour of the Alley's?"

The white haired man laughed at her cheerful demeanor and said, "we might as well."

She gave him a grin and said, "follow me then. We need to head for the Atrium, since we'll be going by the Floo system." He nodded and followed her over to the lifts, as they walked to them he heard as several of Tonks' fellow Auror called out goodbyes. She waved at them cheekily before boarding the lift and having it take them to Level Eight. They exited the lift and walked over to one of the fireplaces that wasn't being used, she asked, "do you want to travel by yourself or do a shared floo?"

Jushiro thought for a few minutes before he said, "better do a shared one. I'm still not completely sure of this method of travel."

She laughed and said, "believe me it's a lot better than the Knight Bus." She tossed in a pinch of floo powder before gesturing for him to enter the fireplace and got in next to him. She grabbed hold of his sleeve and called out, "The Leaky Cauldron!"

The fireplaces whirled around them and they finally came to a stop, Jushiro managed to step out gracefully enough, however that was only due to years of fighting. Tonks' on the other hand almost fell on her face, it was only thanks to the quick actions of the white haired man that she didn't. She looked up at him and blushed slightly, her hair turning a deep red and said, "thanks. I'm afraid I've always been clumsy even as a kid, you'd think with my Metamorphmagus abilities I wouldn't but nooo."

Jushiro watched as she continued to mutter under her breath angrily. Tom cleared his throat and the pair looked up from where Tonks was beating the soot out of her robe, Tonks beamed at him and said, "Wotcher, Tom."

The old man laughed and said, "good to see you, Auror Tonks. What brings you by?"

Tonks gestured to Jushiro and said, "just taking Captain Ukitake here on a tour of our dear Alley." She had given Tom a wink when she had spoken of Diagon Alley.

Tom laughed and said, "well then you better get on with it."

Tonks waved goodbye to tom and dragged Jushiro after her as she made her way to the small courtyard, Jushiro frowned slightly and was about to ask what they were doing when Tonks tapped the wall three times with her wand. He stared in shock as the brick she'd tapped wriggled and a hole began to form in the middle that grew wider and wider until a large archway that even Captain Komamura could have walked through comfortably.

Tonks looked over and saw his slightly awed look, she laughed and said while giving a flourishing gesture, "welcome, to Diagon Alley!"

He walked through the stone archway and when he looked back he noticed that the archway was closing behind them. He looked back to in front of him and noticed that the street was bustling with shoppers, Tonks leaned near him and said, "it's almost time for students to return to Hogwarts for the next school year, Fifth years and below are getting their school supplies, Sixth and Seventh years wait until later to get them since they have to decided which subjects to take."

He hummed in thought, he was so deep in thought that he was startled when Tonks leaned near him again as she asked, "Do you want to go through all of Diagon Alley before heading to the others?"

He blinked at her startled before he asked, "there more than one Alley?"

She nodded before she said, "yeah. There is a total of eight counting Diagon Alley, however one of the eight is residential so I won't be giving you a tour of that one."

He nodded and said, "understandable," he paused for a moment to think before he said, "let's stay in Diagon Alley. If we come across another Alley we'll go down and explore it then when we're done we'll come back to Diagon."

Tonks nodded cheerfully then asked, "which side of the Alley do you want to go down first?"

Jushiro smiled happily at her and said, "the left!"

Tonks sighed hiding her wince she had hoped he'd choose right not left. However despite her apprehension she gamely led him to the cauldron shop on the right side of the Alley. After he had poked around for several minutes picking up this cauldron and that one, he asked, "are cauldrons only used for potions? Or can you use them for other things?"

To his surprise she burst out laughing and he blinked then thought to himself, _'I wonder what was so funny about my question…'_ Just as he finished that thought she managed to calm her laughter and replied to his question, "no, you don't have to use them only for potions. A few of the Hufflepuffs gave up potions during their Sixth and Seventh years, they ended up using their cauldrons as containers to hold their blank scrolls and quills. A couple of them used them to hold candy when they went to Hogsmeade during the weekends."

She snickered in remembrance before she asked, "why did you want to know?"

To her delight his dark eyes sparkled with mischief and he said while he held up a large cauldron made of Rose Quartz, "'Cause I was thinking about buying one of these for Shunsui to hold his flower petals."

Her lips twitched in amusement before she plucked the cauldron from his hands and placed it back on the shelf. She then said, "we'll come back for one later. Didn't you want to see the rest of the Alley?"

Jushiro had begun to pout when she took the cauldron from him and put it back on the shelf, however he quickly grew cheerful at her comment. He gleefully dragged her out the door and went left, he paused by the entrance to an Alley and asked, "which Alley is this one?"

Tonks winced slightly and said, "Knockturn Alley. If you want to go in there, you're going to need a hooded cloak first."

Jushiro frowned and asked while he cocked his head to the left, "why is that?"

Tonks raised a pink eyebrow and said, "because Knockturn Alley doesn't always sell things that are a hundred percent legal." She looked him up and down before she remarked, "if it weren't for your attitude you'd probably pass as a Malfoy, you're hair is white enough."

He blinked and said, "my attitude? What's wrong with it?"

She smiled as she shook her head and said, "nothing, really…however you are a little too nice to be a Malfoy even if your coloration is almost perfect."

He frowned and asked, "almost perfect?"

She nodded and explained, "the Malfoy Family is known for their white blond hair and mercury silver-grey eyes." She reached up and tugged the stubborn lock hanging in his face and said, "like I said. Almost perfect, if you're eyes were a silver gray instead of green and your eyebrows weren't black you could pass for a Malfoy."

He blinked and asked with amusement in his tone, "and wearing a hooded cloak will help me pass as one?"

She nodded cheerfully before she elaborated, "the hood will put your face into shadows and disguise your green eyes while also hiding your dark eyebrows. Since your hair is long enough it should show outside of the hood easily enough." She paused in her explanation to say, "if you really want to go down there…Let me do all the talking, okay?"

He cocked his head to the right and said, "if you think that's best."

With that Tonks transfigured his Haori into a cloak with a hood and cast a color change charm on it so that it would be black, at his worried look she reassured him, "don't worry. It's easy enough to change it back by using Finite Incantatem on the fabric." He sighed in relief then watched as she changed her hair from bright pink to black as well as making it waist length, while her eyes were changed from a sky blue to a grayish blue.

Although he was curious as to how she did that he decided against asking at the moment. She looped her arm through his and began to walk down the dark alley, she had told him before entering, "walk as if nothing and no one in this alley can hurt you. The residents will leave you alone if it seems like they can't take advantage of you."

He had merely nodded and affected a bored attitude as best as he could, he looked with his eyes and not his head, knowing that he turned his head it would seem as if he was nervous instead of assured of his power. Tonks felt him nudge her as they neared Borgin and Burkes, she guessed he wanted to stop and poke around in the shop, she shrugged and went into the shop as if that had been where she planned to go all along. The door bell rang as they entered and Jushiro began to poke around, however to his surprise Tonks began doing the same. At his curious look she whispered, "I'll explain later." He nodded and continued looking, he eventually found a cabinet, as he was looking it over Tonks came up and said, "huh, a Vanishing Cabinet."

He glanced at her and she explained, "a Vanishing Cabinet connects to another. Older family used to use them to connect their summer home with their winter home, nowadays their used to get rid of contraband from one site by putting it to a safe location via the matching cabinet." She looked it up and down then said, "hmm, I might buy it just to get it off the market, it's twin doesn't appear to be in the store so it would be dangerous just to leave it here…not to mention that necklace over there," she pointed at a necklace made of Opals that had a card propped against it that read: Caution: Do Not Touch. Cursed - Has Claimed the Lives of Nineteen Muggle Owners to Date. She sneered at it and said, "that is definitely something I want to get off the market. Thank Merlin that Sirius gave me access to the Black Family Vaults or I wouldn't have any way of buying them."

He blinked but watched as Tonks went over to the counter and after much haggling with the owner bought both the necklace and the cabinet. Tonks summoned Kreacher who bowed and said, "what can Kreacher be doing for Mistress?"

She sniffed haughtily before she said arrogantly, "take this," she waved at the cabinet, "and put it away." Which was code for take it to the Attic of number twelve Grimmauld Place until she could take it to the ministry.

Kreacher bowed to Tonks and said, "right away Mistress," he then placed his hand against the cabinet and popped away. Tonks then had Borgin or Burke, she was never too sure which one of the two were which they were worse than the Weasley twins since they weren't even related, wrap up the necklace and placed it in the inner pocket of her cloak.

With that the pair left the store and walked out of Knockturn Alley into Diagon Alley. Jushiro removed his hood and Tonks cast a Finite Incantatem on the cloak reverting it back to being a Haori. After she did that he took her arm again and they walked down the Alley, looking in windows with Jushiro asking her the occasional question.

They stopped at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, Jushiro got a cone called Chocoholics Delight, which had one scoop each of white chocolate, chocolate chip, chocolate and was drizzled with dark chocolate. Tonks, on the other hand, decided to get a cone that had one scoop each of honeysuckle, butterscotch and white chocolate.

Three shops down from the ice cream shop was the entrance to another Alley, Jushiro asked after taking a lick of his cone, "which Alley is this?"

Tonks who had just taken a lick of her own cone looked up and replied, "Imperial Alley. It's full of higher class restaurants, bakeries and cafes, the older purebred families refuse to eat anywhere else. Imperial Alley eventually runs into Noble Alley, which is full of houses and manors."

Jushiro hummed and walked past the Alley to look into the windows of the shop on the other side of the Alley's entrance. It was a clothing boutique, Jushiro stared into the window with disgust etched on his face, Tonks walked up beside him and stared in shock. Jushiro turned to her and asked, "do they honestly think that Muggles actually would wear this?" He was pointing at an outfit made up of tie-dyed pants, neon yellow shirt and a bright green leather coat.

She snickered and said, "unfortunately yeah. My Da's a Muggleborn and made sure both me and Mum knew how to dress while in the Muggle world." With that she tugged on his hand and pulled him further down the alley, eventually past a junk shop they came across the entrance to another Alley. Tonks grinned at him and said with a flourishing gesture, "this is Hexagon Alley. It sells everything you might need to furnish a house besides furniture, that's sold in Ornament Alley."

Jushiro looked amused and asked, "and where is Ornament Alley located?"

Tonks grinned up at him and said, "the entrance to Ornament Alley is located on Hexagon Alley."

Jushiro smiled and said, "then lets got see it." He took her hand and tugged her down the Alley, he paused a few of the shops to look at the items displayed in the windows. He pulled her inside of a couple of the shops, in one he bought himself a tea set that the shop customized for him. So he had a pair of fishes put on the side of the teapot and on the six cups that came with the set he had one that had a trident on it with a wave behind it. On the other five was on that had a pair of swords on it that looked identical but one was smaller than the other scattered around the swords was cherry blossoms. When Tonks looked at him questioningly he explained, "the first is for my former Lieutenant Kaien Shiba, the second is for Shunsui," he then pointed at the third cup which had a book, a brush and a Camellia in full bloom on it, "that one is Nanao Isa."

He then pointed at the last three, "that one is for myself," it had a thunderstorm over the ocean, "it represents my Zanpakuto. That one is for Byakuya, I'm sure you remember him," the fifth cup had a cherry blossom tree in full bloom on it and at the base of the tree was a small strawberry bush.

She raised her eyebrow at the bush and commented, "I get the cherry blossom tree, but why the strawberry bush?"

Jushiro smiled mischievously at her and said, "Ichigo can mean Strawberry." Tonks blinked a bit in shock before she snickered and gestured for him to explain the last cup, which had a grinning nine tailed fox on it. He picked up the cup and began to explain, "Kitsune, or fox spirits always have more than one tail, but it takes many years for a Kitsune to have nine tails. Kitsune are believed to be able to take on whatever appearance they want to. There is an old tale of a man named Ono, who lived in Mino, he spent the seasons longing for his ideal of female beauty. He met a woman one evening on a vast moor and married her."

Both Tonks and the stores owner were listening to him intently as he explained, "at the same time she gave birth to his son, Ono's dog was delivering a pup. As the pup grew up he became more and more hostile to the lady of the moors. She begged her husband to kill it, but he refused. Finally, one day the dog attacked her so furiously that she lost her courage, resumed her vulpine shape, leapt over the fence and fled. As she ran away, Ono called after her, 'you may be a fox, but you are the mother of my son and I love you. Come back when you please; you will always be welcome.' Legend goes that she stole back into his bed to sleep in his arms every evening but she always left at daybreak a fox. Because she returned to him every night as a woman but left every morning as a fox, she was called Kitsune, which means 'come and sleep,' it also means 'always comes.'" He ended the tale with, "you reminded me of the tale so I had it placed on your cup." He then tapped her on the nose, before having the set wrapped up carefully and shrunk.

She blinked up at him and said, "thank you for the tale. But just how did I remind you of it?"

He chuckled and as they walked out of the shop he said, "because like the fox you can take on whatever appearance pleases you. And you are quite lovely," he added nonchalantly.

She gaped at him and spluttered, "but you've never seen my birth form. How do you know I'm lovely?"

He tapped her nose again and said, "it is not your physical appearance of which I speak, but that of your soul and heart. Kushina speaks of you fondly as does Ichigo, and Ichigo's trust is hard won. Besides the spirit of my Zanpakuto like you," with that he led her down Ornament Alley where he looked in the windows of several shops before leading her back to Diagon Alley.

Together they crossed the Alley to Ollivanders and she explained, "Ollivander's Wand Shop is the only one in all of England." She then lead him over to the entrance of the Alley next to the wand shop and said, "this is Nature Alley, it has the shops that specialize in plants down here and at the end of the Alley is a large garden open to the public. Do you want to go see it?"

He nodded and began walking down the Alley, to her surprise a pair of young boys appear and latch onto Jushiro's robe. He looked down at the two and said, "well hello there, Sogyo no Kotowari." The boys beamed up at him, they had on blue shoes, tan pants, light blue colored robes and triangular shaped hats of the same color as their robes. They had short silver hair and when they peeked at Tonks, their eyes were a light green color.

Tonks smiled down at them and said, "hello there. My name is Tonks, nice to meet you."

The boys blinked at her before they chorused, "we know. We are Sogyo no Kotowari, the spirit of Jushiro's Zanpakuto."

She frowned a bit and looked up at him clearly puzzled, "they're only considered one spirit? But Kushina's Zanpakuto consider themselves separate spirits."

Jushiro chuckled and said, "Kushina an oddity, Soul Society had never seen a soul reaper with two Zanpakuto spirits. But that is what she has, according to Ichigo even the King was startled when she ended up with two."

To his surprise on of the boys latched onto Tonks' robes and started pulling her down the alley, she laughed but scooped him up and Jushiro looked down to find the other boy holding his arms up wanting to be carried. Jushiro chuckled but picked up one half of his Zanpakuto's spirit, before he followed her down the alley to the large lush garden. The four stayed in the garden and the two adults watched as the spirit played tag with each other.

Thankfully the two boys decided that an hour was long enough to play in the garden and dragged the two adults out of it back to Diagon Alley. Tonks led the way up the right side of the alley, which was now the left, back toward the Leaky Cauldron. They didn't spend too much time in Gambol and Japes since neither of the twin boys wanted to prank anyone and Tonks had said, "these are nice enough but if you want really good pranks wait until you see the Weasley twins store."

Jushiro shook his head, he knew that with one word he could stop the Zanpakuto spirit from pranking anyone but it had been ages since he'd seen them outside of his inner world so he would let them have their fun. He followed the trio up the alley with Sogyo no Kotowari stopping and pointing at buildings as they asked what the building was. When they got to Gringotts both boy hid behind Tonks' cloak and she smiled down at them before she said, "don't worry those are Goblins. They only hurt those who want to rob their bank, so long as you behave and be respectful they won't hurt you."

They continued past Gringotts to the Alley in-between the bank and Madam Malkin's, she pointed down it and said, "that Alley has a lot of cafes, bakeries and a large open air market that's only open on Saturday and Sunday."

They continued past the alley and Madam Malkin's shop to the book store Flourish and Blotts, the four stopped briefly inside and Tonks allowed the boys to decide on a single book each for her to buy them. They chose the books: Tales of Beedle the Bard and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. She looked down at the two books and commented, "good choices. However I do expect the pair of you to share them with each other." Both boys nodded rapidly then Tonks went to pay for the books while Jushiro looked on in amusement at how attached the spirit of his Zanpakuto appeared to be to this young woman.


	4. Chapter Three: Of Choices and Advice

**Chapter Three:** **Of Choices and Advice**

* * *

 

Draco watched with carefully hidden disgust as the death eaters groveled at Voldemort's feet. Even his proud father who had always told him that 'Malfoy's bow to no one,' crawled on his hands and knees to grovel at the dark lords feet. He decided right then and there, no way in the Muggle Hell would he grovel in front of the Dark Lord, he had more pride than that. Besides he overheard Astoria telling Blaise that 'Death Eaters disgust me and I would never marry one.'

As he watched from the shadows he saw Voldemort cast the Cruciatus Curse on five of his Death Eaters. As he watched he thought to himself, _'nope no way in the Nine Levels of Hell am I doing that! I'd rather go to Sirius Black and beg to be allowed to be a Black before I'd join the Death Eaters!'_ He continued to watch as Bellatrix Lestrange gleefully cast the torture curse on a fellow death eater on Voldemort's order, he barely kept himself from shuddering at the glint of insanity in her eyes.

He had met his _dear_ aunt Bellatrix earlier in the summer, he had been taken by his father to where the Azkaban Escapees were staying. His father had the displeasure of telling Voldemort that his wife could not go near her sister if she wanted to be able to claim the Black Name. An edict of the Head of the Black family had been given to Narcissa the previous summer stating that if any Black gave aide to Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black then they would no longer be a Black. Voldemort reluctantly accepted that, since he needed Narcissa to stay a Black on the off chance that her child would be the next Lord Black.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Three days after the meeting of the Death Eaters when Draco had made his decision to not become a Death Eater, even if that vow was only to himself. The Lestrange brothers had noticed that Draco wasn't all that enthusiastic about being a Death Eater and during dinner one day they had glanced at each other and silently communicated, ' _let's talk to our little nephew later._ '

Two hours after that the pair slipped outside to where Draco was standing looking up at the stars, by the smell in the air it had rained recently. Rodolphus walked over to stand next to him on his right while Rabastan stood to the left, Rodolphus asked, "what's your opinion on my wife?"

Draco had been about to turn to ask them what they were doing outside, but the moment he heard the question he froze and wondered how to answer that. Rodolphus looked at him and noticed the slightly nervous expression on the young blonds face. He clarified with a small wry smile, "be honest. I won't be angry no matter what you say about her."

Draco glanced up at him before he swallowed nervously but he then gathered his courage before he said, "quite frankly I think she's batshit insane. She's madder than a hatter, although that's probably an insult to all mad hatters… She's worse than a rabid dog, a few cards short of a full deck, a chess set with no pawns and nuttier than a fruitcake." As he said each of his opinions he ticked them off of a finger and ended his spiel by pointing at his uncle Rodolphus and said, "if I was you…I'd divorce her as soon as I could to escape the insanity."

Rabastan had started laughing half way through Draco's spiel but when he heard the last part he fell to the ground and rolled around cackling in laughter. After he got his breath back and had gotten up off the ground he said while he pointed at Draco, "I like you kid." Rabastan then looked up at his older brother and commented, "he reminds me of you Dolph."

Rodolphus looked down at his laughing brother in amusement until the comment that Draco reminded Rabastan about him. Then he simply smacked his younger brother upside the head and said, "shut up, Rab."

Draco eyed both men nervously, wondering silently if insanity was contagious as well as wondering why they asked him that question, after all they were escaped convicts. He tentatively asked the men, "why did you want my opinion on your wife?"

Rodolphus studiously ignored the question and asked, "if we were to give you an oath that we wouldn't speak, nor communicate in any way your answers, would you answer a few questions?" He raised his right eyebrow at the platinum blond teen as he asked the last question.

Draco looked at both with a guarded expression before he warily asked, "what type of oath?"

The two brothers looked at each other then swore as one, "I, Rabastan/Rodolphus Lestrange, do hereby vow that I will not reveal the answers of any question I ask Draco Lucius Malfoy. If I try to tell my vocal cords will freeze and I will forget what I'd been trying to say, if I try to write it down it will not flow, if I try to show someone via a memory it will be blank. Is that good enough?" With that question both brothers looked at the shell shocked blond who was gaping at them in shock.

Draco blinked a bit stupidly at them for several moments before he said in a stunned tone, "yeah that's good enough. So what did you want to ask me?" With that question he shook off his stunned state and stared at the men seriously.

Rodolphus and Rabastan glanced at each other before

Rodolphus began the questions with the first question of, "do you want to be a Death Eater?"

Draco glared at them both before he retorted hotly with, "no way in the Muggles hell!"

Rabastan smirked at Draco's answer before he asked while looking up at the sky, "why not?"

Draco then snorted as he sat down on the grass and said sardonically, "why not? Maybe because I have more pride than to grovel in front of a man who hasn't been able to kill one person? Unlike my father I will bow to no one, I'd die before doing that." He sneered at the memory of his father groveling at the dark lords feet begging for forgiveness.

Rabastan had chuckled and smiled down at the teen in amusement before he asked quietly, "do you support his cause?"

Draco frowned before he shook his head and replied, "no I don't. We need to teach them about our culture, traditions and ways, not kill them outright. We need the new blood, if the old families keep marrying each other without occasionally marrying a muggleborn or a half-blood the old families will die out quickly. Voldemort killing the families that disagree with him are just making them die out sooner." As he spoke he gestured wildly as if to illustrate how passionate he felt about his opinion.

The brothers looked at each other, with faces that had held an odd mixture of amusement, pride and protectiveness, over his head and smirked at each other as they asked the last question together, "are there any other reasons you don't want to be a Death Eater?" They looked down at the blushing teen who avoided their gazes with a fervor that they had only last seen on Regulus Black's face when they had asked what he was up to right after he had re-wrote his will and had them play the part of two of the witnesses.

Draco's eyes had widened and he began to blush but he had answered the question anyway, "yes. Astoria Greengrass loathes the Death Eaters and I've been in love with her since my fourth year." He tilted his chin up and set a determined look on his face that told every one that this was one decision that no one could move him away from, for better or for worse.

To his surprise both of them had merely laughed and sat down next to him on the grass, Rodolphus turned to look at him and said seriously, "so you don't want to be a Death Eater. Good for you," he patted his nephew by marriage on the shoulder.

Rabastan had then taken over and said, "at least you know and have made your decision. However, we feel we should warn you that if you do stand against Voldemort it may mean never seeing your parents again." He looked at his nephew with a grave look on his face, Draco looked down and swallowed thickly.

Rabastan had patted him lightly on his left shoulder before he settled into a different position on the grass while he gazed up at the stars. While he had traced the Canis Major constellation, he quickly located the star Sirius, he then glanced over to the Leo constellation and found the brightest star in it, Regulus, which was other wise known as the brightest star in the heavens.

He laughed lightly to himself and thought, _'your brother used to joke to his friends that you took too much after your namesake Reg… Maybe he was right, you were bright, but everyone knows the brightest stars burn the fastest, but I think that to him you were his light. You never told me why you let him think you were a loyal death eater… I wonder if he even knows now that you were one of Lily's spies.'_

Rodolphus had stood up then as he looked down at the blond teen he said, "I agree with Rabastan. You might not be able to see your parents if you declare that you aren't joining Voldemort." He looked down at his nephew sadly, he heard Rab laughing lightly and wondered what he was laughing about but decided against asking to stare down at Draco with a serious expression on his face.

Draco looked up at his Aunt's husband with a pensive look in his eye before he said in a determined tone, "I know that… But I'm afraid that I've already made up my mind about it."

Rodolphus smirked a bit before he nodded and said, "then let me give you a piece of advice." Draco cocked his head to the side, "if you don't want to be a Death Eater, go to Lily Potter and tell her that. Trust me, she'll protect you as best she can."

Draco had looked up at his uncle oddly but he nodded in agreement anyway, after all weren't you supposed to humor crazy people, he then watched as Rabastan stood up to join his brother.

The pair started to walk away but no sooner than they'd gotten five feet away from him Draco couldn't help it, "why are you helping me?" His cool grey eyes stared at them questioningly as he asked them about their motives.

Rabastan had stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder at him, Rodolphus was five steps in front of his brother he too paused and looked over his shoulder. The two stared at him for several long moments before Rabastan answered, "in a way you remind us of an old friend named, Regulus. If he was still alive today he'd be doing the same thing we just did."

After he had said that the two men went back inside the isolated manor, leaving a very puzzled Draco Malfoy behind them. Draco had muttered quietly to himself, "who is Regulus… And why the heck would he want to help me get away from the Dark Lords service?" As he asked himself that he leaned back onto the soft cool grass and traced the constellations with his mercury colored eyes.

What none of the three men had noticed was that perched in a tree nearby them was a large black crow. It had cocked it's head to the side thoughtfully before it had cawed softly and took off, it was headed towards the southeast.

* * *

At the same time that the three men were talking, Kushina was fixing dinner and dessert for her family, as well as the shinigami and Arrancar staying with her godfathers. Tonks had followed Jushiro back to Grimmauld Place after giving him the tour of the Alley's, Isane had managed to send a message that she'd be having dinner at the Burrow on Percy's instance. While Kingsley had been brought to the house by Nanao after he'd given her a tour of the Department of Mysteries.

Tonks had only managed to give Jushiro a tour of the Alley's before dinner time and Kingsley had only been able to give Nanao a tour of the Ministry. So they were going to switch locations the very next day. Tonks and Jushiro were both sitting in the kitchen watching intently as Kushina was making the desserts for tonight's dinner, Kreacher was beside Tonks taking notes so he'd be able to replicate the same recipes later on.

Kushina was making a rather eclectic set of dishes. The desserts were from the states while the appetizers were from a French recipe that she'd gotten from Fleur, she was making a lasagna recipe that she'd found in an Italian cookbook. While she had decided to make her Aunt Masaki's favorite Stir-fry, it was a beef stir-fry.

She had preheated the oven to one hundred and fifty degrees Celsius, she then wrapped the outside of two ten inch spring-form pans with foil, she then greased the inside of both pans. She had put forty-eight ounces of cream cheese, one and a half cups of sugar and half a cup of flour into a mixing bowl and creamed them together until the mixture was light and fluffy. She then beat in six eggs, one at a time, letting it mix well after every addition and scrapped the sides of the bowl occasionally.

She had then melted eight ounces of white chocolate, and with an electric mixer on low speed she mixed the melted chocolate into the cream cheese mixture. She kept the mixer on low, and slowly beat in one tablespoon of vanilla extract and one cup of heavy whipping cream, she blended it well.

She had then poured the mixture into the prepared spring form pans, she placed both pans into water baths filled with warm water, she then placed it in the oven to bake for fifty to sixty minutes. Or as she told Kreacher, "until the center of the cheesecake is just firm. After that happens cool it at room temperature for one hour, then place into the fridge until set before removing from the pan." Kreacher had nodded enthusiastically as he wrote down her comment.

While the cheesecakes were baking, she had placed two cups of heavy cream into a saucepan and brought it to a boil, she had watched it carefully so it didn't boil over. She then poured the hot cream over four cups of finely chopped white chocolate and stirred it with a wooden spoon until it was melted. She had then added four ounces of brandy and stirred the mixture until it was incorporated. She then placed a spell on the mixture so that it would stay at the consistency that it was at until she poured it over the cheesecakes.

She then made a pair of red velvet cakes while the cheesecakes were cooling in the fridge, she raised the heat of the oven to one hundred and sixty-five degrees Celsius, she then greased and floured six eight inch pans. While in a large bowl she creamed together two cups of softened butter with six cups of white sugar.

While she creamed the butter and sugar she had added twelve eggs to it, one at a time, beating the mixture well after each addition of the eggs. She had then mixed two ounces of red food coloring with six tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa and added it to the mixture.

She then added six cups of all purpose flour alternately with two cups of buttermilk, after all of the flour and buttermilk had been added she put in two teaspoons of vanilla extract and one teaspoon of salt. She then mixed two teaspoons of baking soda with two tablespoons of white vinegar, and gently stirred into the cake batter. Since Kreacher was taking notes she commented while adding the baking soda and vinegar mixture to it, "make sure you don't over mix the batter while doing this step." Kreacher nodded rapidly and added that to his notes.

She divided the batter into the prepared pans and baked it for twenty-five minutes. While waiting for the cakes to finish baking, she made the white chocolate cream cheese icing. She melted twenty-four ounces of white chocolate, then allowed it to cool to a lukewarm temperature. While the chocolate was cooling she beat four eight ounce packages of cream cheese until it was light and fluffy, she then gradually beat in the melted white chocolate and two cups of softened butter. She beat the mixture until it was the consistency of whipped cream. She had taken the cakes out of the oven and set them on the counter to cool during the time she was whipping the cream cheese.

She left the oven temperature alone as she heated six tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. She sautéed six tablespoons of minced shallots until they began to brown, she then added three cloves of garlic finely minced along with four and a half cups of chanterelle mushrooms that were finely chopped. As she added the mushrooms she commented, "if you only wanted to make one third of the recipe you'd only use one and half cups of mushrooms." Kreacher marked down the note and looked back up at Kushina, who had cooked the mushrooms until tender.

She then deglazed the pan with three tablespoons of brandy and seasoned it with one and half teaspoons of freshly minced thyme, three tablespoons of minced fresh parsley, and three fourth teaspoons of salt and pepper to taste. She then removed the mixture from the heat and allowed it to cool. She then took a large bowl and combined three eggs, three fourths a cup of milk, three fourths of a cup of shredded Swiss cheese, six tablespoons of softened cream cheese and six slices of bacon that she'd cooked and crumpled earlier.

She then folded the mixture into the mushroom mixture and spooned it evenly into thirty-two mini phyllo tart shells, and placed the shells on a baking sheet, she baked them in the oven for fifteen to twenty minutes. After the tarts were set she pulled them out of the oven and cast a charm on them so they'd stay warm until eaten.

Kushina took eighteen slices of bacon and two onions chopped, browning them both in a large pan over medium heat. She then stirred in two teaspoons of fennel seed, two teaspoons of oregano, three teaspoons of Italian seasoning and four twenty-eight ounce cans of tomato sauce. She then covered the mixture and simmered on low heat for four to six hours, she then took a large skillet out of the cupboard and set it on the stove. Taking four pounds of Italian sausage and browning it in the skillet, she then drained the sausage on paper towels and cut it into one inch pieces.

She had then mixed four pints of part-skim Ricotta cheese, four eggs, two thirds of a cup of milk, four tablespoons of fresh parsley and two teaspoons of oregano in a bowl. She layered one cup of sauce each into two nine by thirteen inch pans she then laid a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles, half a cup of the cheese mixture, half a cup of sausage pieces, then one third of a cup of shredded mozzarella cheese and then a layer of provolone slices she then topped that with a third of a cup of the sauce. She had repeated the layers then topped with the remaining noodles and spread the remaining sauce over the top and sprinkled the remaining mozzarella cheese over the top. She then placed it in the oven to bake for one and a half hours.

Kushina took eight pounds of beef sirloin at three fourths of an inch thickness out of the freezer where she had it chilling for the past hour and sliced it into very thin strips. She then mixed twelve tablespoons of cornstarch with forty-two ounces of condensed beef broth, two cups of soy sauce and eight tablespoons sugar until the mixture was smooth. She then heated four tablespoons of vegetable oil in a wok over high heat and cooked the beef in four batches until browned, she then set the beef aside. She added another four tablespoons of oil and added sixteen cups of sliced shiitake mushrooms, four heads of Bok Choy cabbage thinly sliced, eight medium red peppers that were cut into two inch long strips, twelve stalks of celery that had been sliced, and eight medium green onions cut into two inch pieces.

She had quartered the ingredients into four sections and did them one at a time in order to cook everything evenly. She stir-fried the ingredients over medium heat until the vegetables were tender but crisp, she set the vegetables off to the side while she stirred the cornstarch mixture and added it to the pan, she cooked it until the mixture boiled and thickened. Stirring constantly until it had, she then placed the vegetables and beef back into the wok, she had only placed one fourth of the cornstarch mixture into the wok same with the vegetables and beef, she heated the mixture through and placed on top of hot regular long grained rice.

She repeated that three more times before declaring it done, she then told Kreacher, "call the others into the dining room. Dinner is ready, bring these first," she pointed at the mushroom tartlets. "Followed by that," she pointed at the lasagna and then to the stir-fry she just made. "Once we're done with those bring out the desserts."

Kreacher had bowed to her and said, "of course Little Mistress."

She had nodded and led Tonks out of the kitchen into the dinning room and sat down at her usual spot next to her father. The table that Sirius had installed in the dinning room was absolutely huge, it could seat twenty people comfortably, eight people on each of the long sides and two each on the short ends.

Sirius and Severus usually sat at one of the short ends while James and Remus took the other short side. Tonight the table was Severus sitting to Sirius' right and Kingsley was sitting next to him, beside Kingsley was Nanao while beside Nanao was the ever lazy Coyote. Lilynette was sitting in-between Coyote and Yachiru who was chattering up a storm to Lily who was sitting next to Kisuke. Kisuke was asking Kushina about her opinion of an invention of his, Kushina was sitting next to James who had Remus to his right.

Remus was sitting in-between James and Yazu who was suffering from sitting next to her father, on the other side of Isshin was Karin who was resolutely ignoring her dad. Orihime was sitting in the middle of Tia and Nel, Tia was seated next to Jushiro while Nel was next to Karin, Jushiro was seated next to Tonks who was to Sirius' left. Remus was sniffing the air and hummed in pleasure he looked over at his daughter, "do I smell beef?"

Kushina chuckled and said, "yes Papa. You smell beef, however we have two things to eat before we eat the dish with beef in it." Remus pouted but when the Chanterelle Mushroom and Bacon Tartlets were placed in front of everyone. One tartlet was placed in front of every person and as they ate it they hummed in delight and Lily told her goddaughter, "you are teaching me how to make this."

Kushina nodded since she had a bite of the tartlet in her mouth, after everyone had finished their tartlet, the plates disappeared and plates holding a piece of lasagna was placed in front of everyone. After they all finished the lasagna, which both Kingsley and Tonks raved about, Sirius declared that 'Kreacher had better learn how to make it pronto.' Kushina had merely chuckled and said, "don't worry Sirius. He took notes."

Sirius cheered and Tonks said, "I hope you know I'll be spending a lot more time over here from now on."

Sirius snickered at that before he quipped, "don't worry Tonks, you can be Cassiopeia's babysitter." She made a moue of distaste before Sirius commented, "you can consider it training for when you become a mom." She looked slightly thoughtful about that before she gave him a conceding nod.

Sirius had poked at the stir-fry in front of him before he speared a piece of meat on his fork and ate it, he gave a soft moan of satisfaction that had Severus looking a bit uncomfortable. Remus had raised an eyebrow at Sirius reaction before he tried a bit of the beef and James heard a rumble of satisfaction come from Remus' throat, he turned to his mate and asked, "that good, Moony?"

Remus nodded and gestured for him to try a bite, James shrugged and took a bite after he finished the bite he turned to his daughter and asked, "how in the heck did you get the beef to be this tender?"

Kushina's golden eyes glinted at him mischievously before she smirked at him and said loftily, "it's all in the quality of the meat… Well that and how long you cook it, Dad."

Kisuke smiled indulgently at her and said, "it's also in the hands of the cook my dear. And you are a superb cook," he pointed out gently.

"That's only cause I had a good teacher," Kushina retorted hotly while rolling her eyes in exasperation. "Aunt Masaki loved this dish so I learned to make it just like she liked it."

Yazu had nodded before she chirped out her comment of, "yep, mom loved this dish. And when I was learning to cook Kushina taught me this one since it's relatively simple and quick to make."

Karin had agreed loudly with her twin while Isshin had sniffled slightly before he loudly declared, "this is just like Masaki used to make."

Both Kurosaki girls groaned in annoyance before hitting their father upside the head and Karin said, "just eat it Dad." As Yazu groaned, Kushina thought to herself, ' _huh… I think Yazu has been spending too much time around her soul mate lately.'_ Kushina could feel Anubis shudder slightly and frowned a bit before she asked the Jackal headed god, _**'Thanatos still isn't back yet?'**_

' _ **Not yet my lady. I don't think it's anything to worry about but with him you never know… He's worse than a magpie sometimes, he gets distracted by the oddest of things.'**_ Anubis commented with exasperation filling his mental tone.

Kushina smirked and retorted back at him, ' _ **oh, like you don't get distracted sometimes. Who was the one that decided it would be a brilliant idea to tell the twins about a prank that was played on…'**_

Anubis interrupted her as he said, _**'I thought we agreed to never discuss that again?'**_

She smirked mentally at him before she said teasingly, _**'another point to me!'**_ Anubis had pouted and refused to speak with her, so she turned her attention back to the conversation around her.

Isshin pouted before he declared, "my daughters are so cruel to me."

Kushina had laughed softly before she said pointing out, "they've always been cruel to you, Uncle Isshin." Soon after she said that everyone had finished their stir-fry's and Kushina stood up to ask, "okay, who wants red velvet cake and who wants cheesecake?"

Kushina, Remus, Tia, Yazu, Isshin, Kingsley, Orihime and Severus all opted for cheesecake while Tonks, James, Yachiru, Lily, Kisuke, Nel, Karin, Nanao and Sirius opted for the Red Velvet. Jushiro got two pieces mostly because Kushina knew he loved his sweets and also because his illness caused him to have a higher metabolism than other people. Lilynette and Coyote got one of each and shared it with each other, they adored both kinds.

Remus took a small bite of his slice cheesecake and paused in shock before he closed his eyes slowly while he hummed in delight. James looked over at his mate then he turned to his daughter as he asked her while pointing at Remus, "alright. What's with up him?"

Kushina had just giggled before she said, "the cheesecake is a white chocolate cheesecake with white chocolate brandy sauce, the alcohol was evaporated out by the heat of the chocolate so it's perfectly safe for kids." She then smirked and added, "the cream cheese frosting on the red velvet cake has white chocolate in it as well."

Jushiro who had just tasted the cheesecake and hummed in pleasure at the taste of it before he said, "Kushina I want the recipe for this cake, so I can give it to my cook at Ugendo."

Kushina nodded as she smiled smugly and said, "I'll write it down for you later." After she ate another bite of her cheesecake she asked, "would you care to spar with me later, Jushiro?"

When several of the people at the table stared at her in shock she clarified, "Kenpachi is going to be gone for a couple of days, he wants to win Hermione's parents over apparently." She shrugged as if to say, 'who knew.'

Jushiro looked like he was about to decline when with a slight pop two young boys dressed in blue robes with silver hair appeared beside him and sent him a beseeching look, he looked down at Sogyo no Kotowari and sighed before he said, "alright. But not too much of one," at that both boys gave a cheer and started to dance.

Tonks looked at them and said in an amused tone, "you two seem happy."

They went over to her and while one of them crawled in her lap while the other clung to her arm chorused, "Jushiro doesn't like fighting so we don't get to play too much. The last time we played was against Yamamoto-Sama!"

Jushiro sighed and said, "I know that, little ones, but really as a captain I don't get to fight much. The only ones who really stand a chance against me usually don't want to aggravate my illness."

Tonks raised her left eyebrow at him and asked curiously, "what illness?"

Jushiro sighed, raised his eyes to the heavens and said in a monotone voice as if he's explained this a hundred times before, "I have tuberculosis, thankfully not contagious and it doesn't really effect me due to my high Reiatsu but it does cause a debilitating cough sometimes. My attacks are usually under control though, I haven't had a serious attack in years."

Tonks looked at him with a narrow gaze for several moments before she asked, "why don't you have Orihime try to heal your illness? I mean, she cured the Longbottoms from their insanity, couldn't she at least attempt to heal you?" As she asked that she cocked her head to the right, she resembled a very confused young puppy at that moment, so much so that it took all of Kushina's effort not to laugh at her.

Orihime looked up from her cake and said cheerfully, "I'd be happy to try!"

Jushiro stared at Tonks and Orihime in shock before he said, "you know. I never thought to have her attempt even when she healed Uryu's powers…" He then turned to Kushina and asked, "would it be alright to postpone our spar until Orihime attempts to heal my lungs?"

Kushina nodded and said, "that's perfectly alright with me. After all if you are healed then the spar will last longer, so really it's in my best interest to wait."

Several of the shinigami stared at her and collectively thought, _'she thinks just like Kenpachi… No wonder she gets along so well with him…'_

Kisuke looked at the staring group in amusement as Benihime muttered mentally, _**'you'd think that after all this time they'd realize that she enjoys a good fight.'**_

Kisuke chuckled silently before he said back, _**'I don't think it truly dawned on the shinigami, my dear. Isshin, his girls, Orihime and all the wizards and witches might have known but I'm afraid the rest just didn't have a single clue.'**_

He heard as she muttered in agreement before she laughed slightly and said, _**'your mate never fails to amuse me, Kisuke. And her Zanpakuto never fail to make me laugh, even if it's just because they like to argue with each other over who is the better protector of their wielder.'**_

Both Orihime and Jushiro had finished their cakes before they made their way to the living room where Orihime had Jushiro lie back on the couch cushions that she piled onto the floor in front of the fireplace. Once he was lying down she knelt by him and said, "I don't know how long this could take. Hopefully it won't take more than a couple of hours, it took two hours for me to heal Frank completely."

Jushiro nodded and murmured quietly to her, "take however long you need, Orihime. I've waited over a thousand years with no hope of a cure, I can stand to wait a few hours while I'm being cured."

She nodded and smiled down at him before she said, "Shun'o, Ayame, Soten Kisshun, I Reject!" The pair of fairies appeared at Jushiro feet and head forming a oblong orange shield.

Shun'o looked up at Orihime and said, "this will take quite a while to fix, but we can fix it! It'll just take a little longer than Frank took."

Orihime smiled down at her and said, "good," she then closed her eyes and muttered, "lets get to it then."

* * *

While Orihime was healing Jushiro, Kushina had gone to the kitchen and decided that while she was waiting for him to be finished healing she'd make some snacks. Albus had loved the lemon bars he had during her birthday party and asked if she knew any other recipes he might enjoy. She had told him that she might have a few stashed away in her head.

Kushina pulled out several ingredients and set them up on the counter then pulled out a thirteen by nine inch pan. She took two cups of all purpose flour and half a cup of powdered sugar, she combined them in a medium bowl before she took a pastry blender and cut in one cup of butter that had been softened. She then pressed the mix into the bottom and one inch up the sides of the pan. She placed the crust in the preheated oven at 175 degrees Celsius to bake for twenty five minutes.

She then took eight ounces of cream cheese, two large eggs, two thirds of a cup of evaporated milk, half a cup of granulated sugar, one tablespoon of all purpose flour, one tablespoon of fresh lemon juice, two teaspoons of freshly grated lemon peel, and one teaspoon of yellow food coloring into a bowl. She then placed a charm on the bowl that blended the mix together, she let it blend until the mixture was smooth, she poured it into the partially baked crust. She then baked it for an additional fifteen minutes.

She allowed it to cool in the pan while resting on a wire rack, she then spread one cup of sour cream over the top and stuck the pan in the refrigerator to cool.

While the Lemon Cheesecake bars were cooling she decided to make more lemon bars, she kept the oven at 175 degrees and lightly buttered another thirteen by nine inch baking pan with two tablespoons of butter and lined it with a sheet of waxed paper. She then buttered the top of the sheet with another tablespoon of butter and laid a second sheet of waxed paper crossways over that. The papers were cut so they were even with the top of the dish to act as handles to lift up the squares later, she then set the pan aside.

Kushina then took a large bowl and combined one and three fourths of a cup of flour, two thirds of a cup of confectioners' sugar, one fourth of a cup of cornstarch, and three fourths of a teaspoon of salt. She mixed it thoroughly before she added twelve tablespoons of butter in small pieces to it.

She then used her hands to work the butter into the flour mixture until the mix resembled coarse meal, she then transferred the butter flour mix into the prepared baking dish and pressed it into an even one fourth inch layer along the bottom and partly up the sides of the pan. She then put it in the fridge to cool for thirty minutes, after it had chilled she put it in the oven to bake for twenty to twenty-five minutes.

While the crust was baking she took four eggs and beat them lightly before she added one and one third cups of granulated sugar to the eggs as well as three tablespoons of flour as well as one and a half of lemon zest. She then whisked the ingredients together until it was smooth and she stirred in two thirds of a cup of lemon juice that had been strained, one fourth of a cup of milk, a pinch of salt and some Limoncello, an Italian lemon-flavored liqueur.

Once the crust was golden brown she removed it from the oven and lowered the temperature of the oven to a hundred and sixty degrees Celsius, she then stirred the lemon mixture again and poured it onto the warm crust. She then put it in the oven and waited until the filling was set, which was about twenty minutes after she placed it into the oven. She then transferred the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once it had finished cooling she took some confectioners sugar and placed it into a small sieve before sprinkling the top of the bars with it. She then grasped the waxed paper that lined the two longest sides of the pan and removed the bars from the pan. She put it on a cutting board and using a long clean knife cut them into two inch squares, making sure to wipe the knife after each cut. She wrapped all the bars with plastic wrap and placed it into the fridge.

Kushina peeked into the living room and saw that Orihime was still healing Jushiro so she decided to make three more desserts before checking on them again. Kisuke had wandered into the kitchen while she was making the lemon squares and sat down at the table. When she came back into the kitchen he asked, "what are you making now?"

Kushina looked through the cupboards and fridge before she said, "I think I'll make some Honey Lemon Bars, some Pumpkin Cheesecake Tarts and some Cream Cheese Bars."

Kisuke hummed in delight, he loved her Honey Lemon Bars he looked up at her and asked, "can you make double of the Honey Lemon Bars?"

She looked down at him and teased him, "you just want twelve bars all to yourself…" she smirked down at him.

He grinned back up at her and after he pulled her into his lap, "guilty as charged." She laughed before giving him a kiss on the cheek and getting up from his lap to begin making the bars. She raised the heat of the oven back up to a hundred and seventy-five degrees Celsius before she lightly greased two eight by eight inch baking pans and then set them aside.

She took a medium bowl and combined two cups of all purpose flour with half a cup of confectioners sugar and mixed it well. She then took a clean pastry knife and cut in one cup of butter until the mixture resembled coarse crumbs, she then pressed the mixture into the prepared pans. She baked it for twelve to fifteen minutes until it was lightly browned and removed it from the oven to cool.

She then took a large bowl and whisked together one and half cups of honey with four large eggs, she then added four tablespoons of all purpose flour, six tablespoons of lemon juice, two teaspoons of grated lemon peel, one teaspoon of baking powder and half a teaspoon of salt. She then whisked all of them together until it was well blended and poured it over the baked crusts before baking them for twenty five to thirty minutes. After the filling was set she removed it from the oven to cool completely on a wire rack and cut it into twenty-four bars after it had cooled.

She placed twelve of the bars in front of Kisuke, who happily began to eat them, before putting away the other twelve for later. She then got started on the pumpkin cheesecake tarts, she dropped the ovens temperature to one hundred and sixty degrees Celsius. She then took a muffin pan and lined the pan with twelve paper muffin cups. She took fifteen gingersnap cookies and crushed them before taking two tablespoons of melted butter, she mixed them together in a small bowl and pressed a scant tablespoon into the bottom of each prepared muffin cup. She stuck them in the oven to bake for five minutes before pulling them out and setting them on the counter to cool slightly while she mixed the filling.

She took eight ounces of cream cheese that had been softened, one cup of pureed cooked pumpkin, half a cup of granulated sugar, one teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice and one teaspoon of vanilla extract, she placed them in a medium bowl. She placed the mixing charm on the bowl until it was well blended before adding two large eggs to it and beat the mixture well. She poured the mix into the muffing cups until the were three quarters of the way full, she then baked it for twenty-five to thirty minutes before she placed the pan on a wire rack to let it cool while in the pan. She then removed the tarts from the pan to place in refrigerator.

She raised the ovens temperature back up to one hundred and seventy five before she mixed one and a half cups of flour, three fourth of a cup of brown sugar, and half a cup of quick cooking rolled oats in a large mixing bowl. She then took another clean pastry knife and cut in three fourths of a cup of softened butter until the mixture was crumbly before she pressed it evenly into the bottom of a thirteen by nine by two inch pan. She baked it for fifteen minutes, taking it out of the oven after it was lightly browned.

In a small mixing bowl she beat together eight ounces of cream cheese and half a cup of granulated sugar until the mixture was fluffy she then added two large eggs and one teaspoon of vanilla extract. She beat the mixture until it was smooth then poured the mixture over the baked crust she baked it for fifteen more minutes before she set it to cool on a wire rack.

In a small sauce pan she took a four ounce bar of chocolate and melted it over low heat, stirring it constantly until it was completely melted. She then drizzled the chocolate over the cooled cream cheese layer, then using a sharp knife, she cut it into thirty bars. After she cut the bars she placed them in the fridge, after covering them, to cool since they would be much firmer after they had cooled.

* * *

Nanao watched as Orihime healed her Captains friend, she murmured quietly, "I don't know why we didn't think to have you heal him before."

Orihime looked up at her and said, "too close to the problem I think. You guys were so used to there not being a cure that when I showed up with the ability to heal you just probably unconsciously thought that I wouldn't be able to and dismissed asking me so you wouldn't get his hopes up."

Nanao nodded and murmured, "probably," before she went back to watching as the orange shield pulsed with the healing power they were using. She noticed that Kushina looked in about two hours into the healing before she ducked out again. Orihime was sweating slightly but when Nanao asked, "are you getting tired, Orihime? Do you need a break?"

"No I don't need a break, it shouldn't take too much longer before they're finished, maybe just over an hour more I think." Orihime reassured the eight divisions Lieutenant before she concentrated on healing Jushiro.

An hour and fifteen minutes later Kushina wandered into the living room holding a platter holding tiny plates with a tart on each of them and asked Orihime, "do you want a pumpkin cheesecake tart, Orihime?"

"Sure," Orihime chirped before she took one of the tarts and picked up the fork and began to eat it giving off an occasional pleased hum as she did so.

Kushina offered the platter to both Nanao and Jushiro, both took a plate but Nanao said, "I'm going to go upstairs for a while." As she walked to the door she paused and winked at Jushiro as she said, "don't worry Captain Ukitake, I'll make sure to keep this development out of my reports."

Kushina nodded and said, "just leave the plate on your dresser, I'll have Kreacher pick it up later." Nanao waved her hand to signal she heard Kushina's words before she ventured up the stairs to her bedroom. After Nanao was out of earshot Kushina asked, "what did she mean by that?"

Jushiro took a bite of his tartlet before he answered Kushina's query, "I want to surprise Shunsui, if Nanao doesn't put my healing in her report than he won't find out about it until I tell him."

Kushina snickered quietly before she said, "that's very devious of you. Any particular reason you want to surprise Shunsui and your division?"

Jushiro hummed a bit in thought before he said, "no particular reason save that I haven't played a joke on anyone in years."

As Kushina snickered, a large black bird flew into the room, Jushiro eyed it oddly since he found it strangely familiar but he was still shocked when it transformed into Thanatos who then kneeled in front of Kushina. She raised her left eyebrow at the slightly disheveled man before she stated quietly to the kneeling man, "you're late, Thanatos. What took you so long?"

"I'm sorry, my lady, I didn't mean to be away so long but the Lestrange brothers were talking to the Dragon of the Serpent House and I didn't want them to take notice of me since they had seen my other form before." Thanatos explained in a hushed tone while he bowed his head to stare at the ground.

Kushina narrowed her gaze before she said in a slightly hissing tone, "what have I told you about avoiding eye contact with me Thanatos?"

Thanatos swallowed thickly before he looked up at her and winced slightly, "not to…"

She smiled slightly at him, but the smile didn't reassure him in the least, before she said while she patted the spirit on the head, "good boy, you remembered after all." She then frowned down at him and growled, "so why did you bow your head and not look at me?"

He winced, both himself and Anubis hated to disappoint their Mistress, the punishments she gave them were never harsh for she loved them too much to hurt them… but they were always apt. The last time he'd broken one of her rules he had to be very nice to everyone he normally didn't like, of course the last time he'd broken a rule Kushina had been part of the Shinigami King's guard. She started to tap her foot in impatience and he said hesitantly, "I didn't want to see any disappointment in your eyes."

She snorted and retorted, "I was more disappointed with how you avoided looking at me more than by how late you were."

He winced again when she said thoughtfully, "now how to make sure you don't break that rule again…" she trailed off but several moments later a wicked grin crossed her face. She looked down at the kneeling Zanpakuto spirit before she said, "your punishment is to look after Cassiopeia for three hours every day for two weeks. Beginning tomorrow morning."

Thanatos looked stricken and she smiled before she patted him on the top of the head as she said, "think of it as practice for when I have kids!" Thanatos just groaned while she laughed and as he stood up she said, "oh, and Thanatos..."

He looked down at her questioningly, she smirked up at him and said, "the three hours only count when Cassiopeia is awake." She narrowed her gaze at him and asked quietly, "understood?"

He sighed and nodded before he said, "yes, My lady. My punishment for not looking you in the eye begins tomorrow morning. My punishment is to take care of Cassiopeia for three hours every day for two weeks and the time only counts when she's awake."

She nodded in satisfaction as she said, "good. You can go back to my inner world now." He nodded and disappeared, after he disappeared from view Jushiro started laughing, Kushina raised her right eyebrow at the laughing man before she asked, "what's up with you?"

Jushiro kept chuckling as he said, "I've never heard of someone punishing their Zanpakuto spirit for being too submissive to them."

Kushina shook her head and said, "it's not that. I have three little rules for them that are relatively simple to follow. Rule one: when giving me a report you are not to avoid eye contact with me. Rule two: you can argue with each other as much as you like but there is to be no actual fights. The final rule is: pranking of anyone and everyone is allowed unless I say otherwise."

Jushiro blinked at her and murmured, "interesting rules."

She inclined her head toward him and said, "I certainly thought so. The rest of the Kings guard certainly got a kick out of the rules whenever Thanatos or Anubis broke one. I always come up with suitable punishments, the last time they broke the second rule I had them be overly nice to everyone they didn't like for three months."

He laughed and said quietly, "well that punishment certainly fit the crime." Jushiro stood up and said, "shall we have our spar after breakfast?"

She paused a bit and said, "only so long as it's a light breakfast, wouldn't want to overwhelm ourselves after all."

He nodded before he headed up the stairs to his room while Kushina stared into the fire while she was thinking. Finally she stood up herself to head to bed, banking the fire before leaving the room, she peeked into the kitchen where Kreacher's room had been added. She saw that the old house-elf was sound asleep, she shook her head and pulled his covers over him before heading up the stairs.


	5. Chapter Five: Of Twin Fish and Old Firends

**Chapter Four:** Of Twin Fish and Old Friends

* * *

 

The next morning when everyone came down for breakfast they found Thanatos seated at the table feeding Cassiopeia with a bottle. Kushina was making rolled omelets again, but this time she had fried some bacon, sausage, hash browns and made toast as well. Tonks had apparently come by very early today since she was sitting at the table salivating over the smell of freshly cooked bacon and hash browns. Jushiro yawned as he sat beside her and asked, "so how is your morning going so far?"

The pink haired Auror looked over at the sleepy Captain and smiled in amusement at how he was rubbing at his eyes before she remarked, "good. I figured since I'm going to be playing tour guide with you today I might as well get here early. Kushina told me you and her have a spar scheduled for after breakfast."

Jushiro nodded before he asked Kushina, "didn't we agree to a light breakfast?"

Kushina raised an eyebrow at him and said, "we won't be eating that much."

Nanao had wandered into the kitchen as Kushina finished speaking and said, "good morning everyone."

Kushina smiled at her and said, "good morning Nanao. Some tea?" She held out a cup of tea to Nanao who had nodded at her question and the Lieutenant took it from her gratefully, taking a sip now and again.

After everyone had eaten breakfast, Jushiro and Kushina went into the training area below Grimmauld Place, Kushina stretched before she smirked at Jushiro and asked, "so are you going to use your shikai or just keep Sogyo no Kotowari in it's sealed form?"

He snorted and said, "considering you went toe to toe with Kenpachi and won when he didn't know his swords name. And you still manage to beat him even with him knowing her name, I'd better use my Shikai, to not use it would be an insult plus I might end up losing if I don't." With that he unsheathed his zanpakuto and held it out at her before he quipped, "however I don't see why we can't warm up before going into shikai."

Nanao was standing by Tonks who was watching avidly, she looked down at the pink haired Auror and asked, "haven't you seen Kushina spar before?"

Tonks shook her head, "nope. I'm usually at work when Kushina and Kenpachi are sparring, so I haven't been able to see it before. Besides I'm fairly sure no one here has really seen Jushiro spar, after all with his illness he probably had to cut his spars short all the time." As she spoke she kept her eyes on the duo below them, they were trading blows, leaping out of the way of attacks, she laughed at how Kushina did a one handed backhand spring to get out of the way of one of Jushiro's strikes. Kisuke poked his head down into the training area in time to see his mate dodge an attack and shook his head over her antics, he then went back to what he was doing.

After several rounds of trading blows and actually locking their blades together, Jushiro breathily said, "how about we step it up a notch?"

Kushina grinned at him and said, "you got it. Do you want me to use the shikai from both of my Zanpakuto or just one?"

He laughed and said, "both. If you refuse to fight Kenpachi without using both in Shikai then you'd better use both with me."

She nodded and stepped back, before she cried out, "as they have sown so let us reap, bow to me and submit. My dark ones!"

Jushiro bowed to her and gripped his sword with his right hand, drawing it toward his right hip and braced his left hand against the hilt guard. He then called out, "all waves rise and become my shield! Lightening strike now and become my blade!" As he finished speaking he gripped the hilt with both hands, the blade transformed slowly and began to form two blades. As the blades peeled apart a large red rope-like chain at the base of the hilt began to lengthen and the silver metal square charm attached to the chain began to fall until all five were visible.

To the viewers the blade was somewhat thinner then the other's they had seen before and the cross guard now extended up the blade for about fifteen centimeters. About twenty-five centimeters above the cross guard is a second blade jutting back toward the hilt, parallel to the main blade. The edge of the second blade faced inward instead of outward, which from what the wizards could see probably made the blade very difficult to handle properly.

As the blades finished transforming and he held them by the hilts, his arms were crossed in front of him, with his right hand up by his left shoulder and his left hand by his right shoulder. He narrowed his green eyes and said quietly, "Sogyo no Kotowari."

Kushina tilted her head to the side before she said, "truth of Pisces or Law of the Twin Fish." She hummed a bit in thought before she commented, "a rather interesting pair of swords, I must say." She then canted her head toward Jushiro before she added with a rueful voice, "I would almost say that it is more interesting than my own pair. But I have no wish to hear them whining and pouting for days afterwards." After she said that she winked at him, she smiled smugly when he laughed at both her comment and the wink she'd given him.

After watching as he chuckled for several minutes she asked, "what are the ground rules for this spar?"

Jushiro smiled at her before he replied with, "anything is fine but no fatal strikes. Kido and such like it is allowed however."

Kushina nodded before testing his speed by throwing the scythe she was holding in her left hand at him, he dodged it easily before he used shunpo to get behind her and almost managed to hit her back. However she was able to block his strike with the chain connecting the scythes before she disappeared from sight, she reappeared several feet away from him. She looked at him with wide eyes and said, "you're actually going to be a challenge." She gave him a grin and said, "finally a person who doesn't use projectile weapons that I don't have to teach how to fight against an opponent with a larger reach than them!"

With that she gleefully struck out at Jushiro, he parried the blow easily enough before he once again began to use his speed to his advantage. Lily tilted her head to the left and commented, "you know. I'm not having that much trouble following their movement as I thought I would."

Nanao asked, "have you seen her spar with anyone else before?"

Lily nodded and said, "yeah, I've seen her spar against Kenpachi a few times and against Sirius once and a while. But still with how fast I know they can move I'm surprised I can follow their movements this well…"

Nanao frowned slightly before she said, "maybe your magic is adjusting the speed with which your eyes are adjusting to movement."

Lily shrugged before she turned back to watch the two spar, so far neither of them were using kido against each other. Lily noticed that her nieces shirt was torn about two inches above her belly button while her pants had several rips and tears in them.

Kushina frowned and thought to herself, _'hmmm, I wonder if his swords can handle Ninjutsu as well as it does kido spells…'_ Kushina had fired a few kido spells at him only to have him fire them back at her with double the speed. She would have sworn the attack came form his sword if it weren't for the fact that her Zanpakuto told her otherwise.

Her eyes glinted and she grinned before she flipped her scythes in her hands before she took her left scythe and swung it down before she began to spin it over her head. Her eyes began to glow a bright gold and she sent energy along the chain leading up to the rotating scythe before she let go of the handle. To the shock of both Jushiro and the watchers the scythe hung in the air still rotating with out her swinging the chain. She took the other scythe and stuck it against the chain on her lower back, to Jushiro's surprise she placed her hands together and interlaced the fingers.

She then moved her hands again, this time curling her right ring finger and pinky against the palm of her right hand. She then placed her left ring finger and pinky over them, she placed her index and middle fingers against each other. She then placed her hands palms together with her finger tips touching her wrists. After that she again placed her palms together only this time she curled the fingers of both hands against the palm slightly but had the fingernails of each hand against the other's. Her thumbs were curled into the palms as well.

She then moved her hands to where they were no longer palm to palm, instead she kept her fingers curled at the second knuckle and interlaced all of them but the index fingers and thumbs. She placed the thumbs of each hand against the side of the palm with only the tip of it touching the palm, creating an almost triangle shape with them, she then placed her index fingers against each other with only the tips touching. She then moved her palms back against each other and placed the tips of her index and middle fingers against each other and interlaced the ring and pinkies of both hands. As she was forming the symbol with her hands she was moving at a fairly fast pace, but still slow enough that they could follow it.

She had looked at him before she opened her mouth and spat at him, to their surprise whatever it was that she spat out at Jushiro caught on fire. The ball of fire rocketed toward Jushiro who to the watcher's surprise caught the ball with the left blade of Sogyo no Kotowari. The blade glowed and a light traveled down the red rope connecting the blades the steel squares lit up and a larger and faster fireball shot out of the right blade.

Kushina smirked and dodged the ball of flame, Jushiro stared at her and asked in a shocked tone, "what in the worlds was that?"

She smirked and said, "Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"

He raised his eyebrows at her and gestured toward her hands as he asked, "and what was with all of the hand signs?"

She chuckled as she reached behind her back with her right hand and grabbed the scythe stuck there. She then reached above her head for the still spinning scythe and tugged it down as well. She then leaned the handles of both of them against her shoulders and said, "those were hand seals. Used by Shinobi in the elemental countries to perform Jutsus. The first one I had formed was the Serpent or Snake seal, then came the Ram seal, followed by the Monkey. Which in turn was followed by the Boar then Horse and ended the sequence with the Tiger seal." Jushiro blinked at bit at the information but was startled when Kushina continued her lesson with, "that is what is known as a Katon Jutsu. Katon when translated means simply Fire Release, the Uchiha clan of Konoha in the land of Fire is known for their proficiency in the Katon Jutsus."

Jushiro blinked a bit before he said, "it's certainly interesting. You didn't even have to call out it's name or do a chant to fire it." With that the spar continued, a few minutes later Kushina got a lucky strike in with her right scythe, she sliced his shitagi and kosode. He swore before he shrugged out of them since they would only get in his way being torn like they were.

Kushina made a show of looking her current sparring partner up and down before she let out a long drawn out wolf whistle. As Jushiro blushed a bright red from both the once over and the whistle, Kushina remarked, "damn, I love what sword fighting does for a mans physical attributes."

Although he was certainly not as muscular as Kenpachi, he was still defined enough to make a few of the watching women drool. Nanao glanced over at the pink haired Auror beside her when she let out a low moan. She found that Tonks was gaping at the white haired captain, Nanao laughed slightly before she leaned over and said in Tonks ear, "you're drooling."

Tonks jumped a bit and swiped her fingers from her mouth down to her chin before she glared at the laughing dark haired woman beside her. She then muttered embarrassedly, "I was just admiring his muscle definition."

Nanao smirked at that comment before she casually stated, "if you think he's got good muscle definition you should see Captain Zaraki without his shirt on."

Tonks snorted before she thoughtlessly commented, "yeah, but Hermione would kill me if I touched him. She only allows Kushina to drool over him because she's engaged to Kisuke and wouldn't even think about straying."

At that moment Kushina commented casually while giving Jushiro a wolfish grin, "I certainly wouldn't toss you out of my bed if I got you in it. In fact you'd be hard pressed to leave it," she then leered at him.

Jushiro and everyone else gaped at her for that comment, Jushiro was about to ask about Kisuke's opinion of her saying something like that when everyone in the training area heard Kisuke comment, "I wouldn't toss him out of bed either, love." Jushiro gaped at the captain of the twelfth division, as he walked toward the pair to wrap one arm around Kushina's waist and kissed her on the cheek. He then placed his chin on top of her head and said thoughtfully, "actually so long as he was willing, I'd probably join you in your fun."

Kushina smirked up at him before she commented, "or you'd get some popcorn and snacks. Then you'd just get settled into the most perfect viewing spot you could find and watch as I had my fun."

Kisuke paused a bit and then nodded, "true enough." He kissed her lightly on the lips before he said, "I just came down here to tell you that your prescence has been requested by a woman named Mikoto. A Cheetah delivered the message and said that although it wasn't urgent that you see her she still requested that you come as soon as possible."

Kushina clicked her tongue before she said, "alright. I'll go to see her after my spar with Jushiro, did the cheetah say where Mikoto was?"

Kisuke frowned before he said, "I believe it said that she told it to tell you that they had to use Plan B since Plan A was not advisable. Does that make any sense to you?"

Kushina nodded and said, "yeah that tells me where they're at. Anything else, love?"

Kisuke shook his head and said, "nope. Nothing else to speak of save to maybe warn you not to break your sparring partners."

Kushina pouted and said, "but I tease Kenpachi all the time about dragging him to bed and Hermione never minds."

He chuckled and said, "that's because she knows that despite whatever you and I might tease about we'd never actually do it. After all, Kenpachi belongs to Hermione as much as Hermione belongs to him, which is to say utterly and completely."

Kushina stared at him thoughtfully before she said, "true, very true. We would never tear apart a couple even one that's just forming that would just be wrong."

Kisuke laughed before he gave her another light kiss before he said as he turned away from her, "I'll leave you to your fun then, my dear."

She waved cheerfully at him before she said to Jushiro, "shall we continue then? I promise, no more remarks about how good you look."

Jushiro laughed before he said, "actually I'm used to those. After all Shunsui is always calling me handsome once and a while."

She set her scythes down on the ground before she clapped slowly and said while picking up the scythes again, "good for him. You need to be complimented more." With that she attacked and he barely blocked the strike in time before he started dodging her attacks.

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Two hours later the pair finally stopped their spar, Jushiro looked up at the panting red haired woman and said, "I don't think I've ever fought that long before. Normally the fight is over with fairly soon after it's started, either that or my subordinates step in for a while so I can take a break and not have an attack."

Kushina smirked at him and said, "well now they won't ever have to step in. Unless your fighting something they couldn't tackle by themselves anyway."

Jushiro chuckled and said, "true enough," he squinted slightly up at the rocks around where they were fighting and noticed that some of the watchers had disappeared. He turned to her and asked, "do you know where our missing voyeurs went?"

Kushina nodded as she reverted her Zanpakuto back to their sealed forms then placed them back into the gauntlets. "Yeah, Kingsley took Nanao to visit Saint Mungos and Orihime tagged along with them since she didn't get to tour it the last time she visited it. Uncle Isshin, Yazu, Karin, Aunt Lily, Lilynette and Coyote all went sightseeing with Aunt Lily as their guide. And I really don't want to know what my parents are up to, Kisuke is probably planning something diabolical." As she listed the activities she ticked off the names on her fingers, and when she told Jushiro what she thought Kisuke was up to he laughed.

He shook his head in amusement before he reverted Sogyo no Kotowari back to its sealed form and slid it into it's sheath. He then asked, "what time do you think it is?"

She stretched and cracked her spine before she said, "well it was eight o'clock in the morning when we started and we spent about four hours down here… It should be around twelve, I'll go get lunch started… that is if no one else has started it."

Jushiro snorted and said with an amused lilt to his voice, "I don't think anyone is willing to usurp you place in the kitchen. Kreacher wants to learn as many recipes as he can out of you before you head back to school for another year."

She concedes his point with a nod of her head before climbing the ladder up to the ground floor of Grimmauld Place. The watchers that had remained below to continue watching them spar quickly followed the pair up the ladder and Tonks asked Kushina, "so what's for lunch?"

Kushina looked down at her and said, "I'm not too sure yet, I'll have to find out what everyone is in the mood for." She climbed up the ladder a few more steps before she yelled down, "how does everyone feel about pizza?"

She got a chorus back of, "what's pizza?"

She stared down at the group below her and said, "you don't know what pizza is?" She sniffled a few time before dramatically saying, "you are all so deprived! I must fix this travesty at once!"

As she bounded up the ladder she called out up the stairs, "Dad, Papa, Uncle Rus, Uncle Sear! We're having pizza and pasta for lunch!"

Severus looked into the hall from the library and said, "alright Kushina, just tell Kreacher when you need us."

She nodded and did a quick head count of the people in the house, counting herself and Jushiro there were a total of nine people in the house. She knew that the three doing a tour of Saint Mungo's were probably going to get lunch in Diagon Alley then do a tour of the alleys after that. The group currently touring London were more than likely wanting to sample the dishes over here, Lilynette was a very curious Arrancar after all.

She went into the kitchen and told Kreacher, "lunch is going to be pizza and pasta. I'm going to make two pasta dishes and let everyone choose which one they want to eat." Kreacher nodded and pulled out the pad of lined paper and pen that Kushina had given him to write down the recipe's in, she commented over her shoulder, "I'm going to make a batch that's essentially times three, so I'll tell you after I make the dough how much is needed for one recipe. Okay?"

Kreacher nodded again before he marked that down and said, "yes, little mistress."

Kushina pulled out three one-fourth ounce packets of active dry yeast, Kreacher had sobbed with joy when she told him that muggles had invented a way to store yeast for a long time. She pulled out the sugar, all purpose flour, salt, olive oil, and a pitcher of lukewarm water that she charmed to stay at a constant temperature.

She took the yeast and about three pinches of sugar to three fourths of a cup of warm water in a medium bowl. She let it set for about ten minutes to reactivate the yeast, once it was activated she poured the mixture into a large bowl and added about three cups of flour to the bowl. She then used a wooden spoon to mix it well, before she added about six cups more of flour and about a cup and a half of water. She used her hands to mix it until it started to come together, she added a bit more water when the dough seemed a bit too dry.

As she mixed it she told Kreacher, "if the dough is too wet add more flour, if the dough is too dry add some water. But add the water slowly, you don't want to have to add more flour after that. The dough should be a little sticky but not too dry, at this point you can add one to two tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs if you want."

She looked down at the dough forming into a rough ball in her hands and said, "I think I'll omit it in this case." She then lightly floured the counter and rolled the dough out onto it, she then began to knead the dough for about eight to ten minutes.

As she kneaded the dough she told Kreacher how much each ingredients would be needed to make only a third of the recipe. "You'll only need a single one fourth of an ounce packet of active dry yeast, a pinch of sugar and one fourth of a cup of lukewarm water to bloom the yeast with. You can use either bread flour or all purpose flour, anyway you go you'll need about three to three and a half cups of it. Two tablespoons of salt, another one to one and a half cups of lukewarm water and about two tablespoons of olive oil to grease the bowl that the dough will rise in."

After she had formed the dough into a ball she wiped a large bowl with a little olive oil, she placed the dough ball in the bowl and flipped it to over it with oil. She then covered the bowl with a damp towel and placed it with a low warming charm on it before she set it on the counter to rise. As she left it alone she told Kreacher, "leave it alone for about one to three hours or until the ball has doubled in size."

As the yeast was activating she had pulled out nine packets from the freezer and commented, "it's a good thing I already made the dough a few nights ago thinking that it's make a good dinner. The dough I'm making now will simply replace what I'll be using right now."

She smirked and checked on the thawing dough, as she did so she commented, "when the dough has risen you'll need to punch it down with your fists than knead it lightly for two to three minutes. After that cut it into two to four pieces and form each one into a ball, after that is done wrap them tightly and put in the freezer for later use."

She checked the dough balls that she pulled out of the freezer before she began to make the dough that was currently rising. Once she was sure it had thawed completely she pulled them out of their wrappings and covered them lightly with plastic wrap and placed them with a warming charm on them to let them rise.

While the dough was rising, she set a pizza stone in the oven and let it preheat to two hundred and sixty degrees Celsius, while the stone and oven were preheating she took a fourteen ounce can of peeled whole tomatoes and drained it. She ran the tomatoes through a food mill, she left the result a little chunky then added one tablespoon of olive oil, half a teaspoon of Oregano as well as salt and pepper to taste.

She then took three balls of the dough and rolled them out until they were thin but not too thin, she transferred the resulting round to a floured pizza peel. She spread one third of the tomato sauce over the dough, starting in the middle and working in a circular motion outward. She left about a one inch border around the edge of the dough to grip when eating it after it was finished cooking, she took one third of a pound of mozzarella, sliced into thin rounds and lay it evenly over the pizza. She sprinkled it with a pinch of salt and pepper before drizzling it with a bit of olive oil.

She then slid the pizza onto the pizza stone and baked it until the cheese was melted and the crust was baked through and browned. It was about seven to nine minutes, after she removed the pizza from the oven she laid several thin slices of Prosciutto on it before she cut it into pieces and placed a charm to keep the pizza piping hot.

She repeated the process with the other eight dough balls, varying only in how many she made like the first. Three of the pizzas had mozzarella, shredded Fontina, crumbled Gorgonzola and grated Parmesan cheese instead of just mozzarella, nor did she top them with Prosciutto as soon as they came out of the over. While on three more she had sautéed some thinly sliced mushrooms in a little olive oil and seasoned them with salt and pepper. She sprinkled them on top of the three pizzas before she baked them then after she pulled them out of the oven she placed slices of Prosciutto over the pizzas. Once all the pizzas were finished she set them aside and cast a warming charm over them to keep them at the fresh from the oven temperature.

She then pulled a pound of bacon out of the fridge and set it aside, the grabbed eight cloves of garlic, eight eggs, the pepper grinder was still out from the pizzas so she didn't have to get that. She then took two pounds of uncooked spaghetti noodles and put them next to the stove, she took wedge of parmesan cheese and set it on the counter along with the grater.

She took the bacon and chopped it into pieces, before she put in in a skillet over medium heat and cooked it until it rendered its fat and just as it started to crisp she added half of a cup of white wine to it. She then cooked down the wine and bacon mixture until the wine had almost evaporated, she then set the pan aside.

She took the eight eggs and beat them in a large bowl, after they had been beaten she added some black pepper and one and a half cups of freshly grated parmesan cheese. While she had been sautéing the bacon and beating the eggs she had been boiling the noodles, after she had stirred the cheese and pepper into the eggs she strained the pasta and added it to the egg and cheese mixture. She tossed the noodles with the sauce and after several minutes the heat from the noodles cooked the eggs and created a creamy sauce.

While the bacon was reheating, Kushina minced the eight cloves of garlic and added both the garlic and bacon mixture to the pasta, stirring it in well. She then placed a warming charm over it and left it to sit on the counter.

Kushina took three pounds of Fettuccine noodles and started boiling it in a large pot, she had eighteen tablespoons of butter warming to room temperature that she had cut into small pieces while they had been cold. She then grated some Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, about three fourths of a pound of it or two and one fourth cups of it. After the noodles had reached al dente, or to bite, she drained the pasta of water leaving only a small amount with the noodles. She then added the noodles back to the pan, along with the butter and grated cheese. She tossed the ingredients together until the butter and cheese formed a creamy sauce, she kept tossing the noodles until they were well coated. She had Kreacher place some salt and pepper shakers on the dining room table so the rest of them could season their pasta to their taste.

She then had Kreacher take the food into the dining room before she had him call the others. She waved her hand at the kitchen and the dishes began to clean themselves, she told Kreacher that she'd deal with the pizza dough after lunch was over with. She had made him a small pizza and a bowl of pasta as well, he declined to eat with her and the others, stating, "house elves do not eat with their masters. Kreacher will look after little miss while her parents are eating."

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A couple of hours later Kushina was in the kitchen again, this time punching down the pizza dough and kneading it, she divided the dough into twelve balls before wrapping them up tightly and placing them in the freezer. After that she found her dad and said, "Dad, I'm going to head out for a while. If you need me back just have Kreacher come find me, I should be back in time to start dinner."

James looked up from the book he was reading and said, "alright Kushina. Stay safe."

She smiled at him and said, "don't worry I'll be careful, besides who wants to get on the bad side of a bunch of Jackals?" With that she ducked out of the room and headed out the front door, she used shunpo to get to Jackals Lair before she called Dobby to come take her to Konoha.

She quickly located Naruto and found him practicing his summoning of the snakes, he was trying to make sure he got the specific or generally what he needed. Some snakes were perfect for spying but others weren't, Kushina chuckled and Naruto turned around quickly to see who had come across him training. He grinned in delight when he saw that it was Ryuu that had found him, he bounded across the small clearing and said while hugging her, "you're back!"

She ruffled his hair as she chuckled and said, "only for a little while. I was supposed to head right out after reporting in but I decided to come check on you." She glanced around the clearing and said, "this is a pretty isolated spot but I know of a better training ground."

His blue eyes lit up and he bounced in front of her, "where? Where is this better training ground and how is it better?"

She put her hands on his shoulders to stop him from bouncing and said, "it's the forest of death. The snakes will take care of you," she hummed before she said, "and I know how to make sure they take care of you!"

Naruto blinked up at her curiously and asked, "how? And why would they take care of me?"

Kushina tilted her head to the side in what Naruto had associated with her smiling and said, "about sixteen years ago, I managed to learn a tongue called Parseltongue. It's also known as the serpents tongue, snakes will not harm a speaker of the tongue."

Naruto stared at her blandly and said, "but I don't speak it."

Kushina laughed and said while she ruffled his blond locks, "then I'll just make sure you can." He stared at her clearly wondering what in the hell she meant by that, she explained, "I'll put a seal on you that'll let you speak it. Like the summoning seals it'll be permanent, it'll sound like normal words to you but everyone around you will hear only hisses. If you concentrate on what you're saying you'll hear a slight hissing undertone to your words." What she neglected to tell him was that the seal could only be placed on a blood relative of the person making the seal.

He blinked a bit then said, "when are you going to put the seal on me?"

Kushina pulled out her scroll that carried her sealing equipment in it and said, "now of course." She quickly opened the box and after selecting the smallest brush in the kit she pulled out a small empty vial and cut open her palm. She put the blood from the cut into the vial before she sealed the cut with a minor healing jutsu. Not even a scar was left behind afterward, she then used the blood to draw a small seal right over where his larynx was.

After the seal was finished she double checked the seal to make sure it was perfect before she activated the seal by speaking Parseltongue, the seal was semi-intelligent in the fact that whatever language was being spoken as it activated was what it helped the person it was on to speak. After several years of use it eventually taught the language to the speaker causing them to no longer need the seal and the seal would thus wear off. The seal glowed to show that it had activated then faded from view, not even if Naruto had chakra channeled through him would the seal show up.

She summoned a serpent and told Naruto, "say something to it."

Naruto looked at the snake wrapped around her upper body and tentatively said, " _hello."_

The snake reared back in shock and hissed, " _you speak!"_

Naruto began to do a dance and said over and over, "yes, I can speak snake! I can speak snake!"

Kushina watched in amusement and said, "if you're done dancing… We can head over to the forest of death and introduce you to the snakes there."

After she introduced the snakes to Naruto and Naruto to the snakes she left Konoha and headed back to the destroyed village that had been hidden in the whirlpools. After she began to near the hidden second village she felt several people watching her, so she wasn't the least bit surprised to find herself surrounded by five people wearing black masks with a single spiral on it, one had the spiral on his forehead another on his right cheek.

The one with his spiral over his left eyebrow asked in a growling voice, "who are you? And what are you doing here?"

Ryuu raised an eyebrow under her mask and tilted her head to the right before she answered, "my name is Ryuu and Mikoto asked me to come see her as soon as I could." She then held out her wrists and said cheerfully, "take me to your leader!"

Under their masks the five men goggled at the cheerful woman but wrapped her wrists in chakra draining rope and led her back to the village. As they passed through the barrier hiding it from sight Kushina felt the secrecy jutsu fall into place, she knew she wouldn't be able to speak of whatever she saw in the village.

The men led her to a small building and one of them went inside after several moments he came out and led her into the building. Kushina perked up when she saw her friend, Mikoto, a few years older and with more worry on her face but still the same. Fukaku was next to her also looking a little worn and worried but still fairly happy, Mikoto sat up, took one look at the snarling dragon mask and asked, "what genjutsu did you use to make the male ANBU of Konoha believe that the women's changing room was theirs and vise versa?"

The five men had left after delivering her to them and before they left they had taken off the rope from around her wrists. Kushina reached up to her face and lifted the mask, as she slid it off she answered, "you'd have to answer that one 'Koto-Chan. I suck at genjutsu, remember, and you never told me which one you used anyway."

Mikoto looked at the face of her old friend, she noticed that her eyes were now a gold color instead of her old gray, but she still leaned forward and hugged her. As she pulled back from the hug she smiled and said, "it's good to see you 'Shina-Chan. But, how are you alive? I saw your body myself, Tsunade said that there was no way you could have made it, you had too many internal injuries."

Kushina sighed and rubbed the back of her neck before she said, "it's a long story. Do you two have time to hear it?"

Fukaku laughed and said in a wry voice, "Kushina, we have nothing but time." Mikoto then gestured for her to sit down and have some tea, Kushina began to explain as Mikoto served the tea to herself, Fukaku and Kushina.

After Kushina had explained the circumstances regarding her reincarnation and Minato's technical reincarnation into Kisuke Urahara, as well as Naruto being fine but unknowing of her being his actual mother. Mikoto laughed for several minutes and even Fukaku chuckled about it, Mikoto looked at her and said, "I want to meet these friends of yours, they seem rather interesting to have followed you for so long."

Kushina pouted slightly before she laughed and said, "I'll see about bringing them by during next summer. It's almost time for us to head back for our sixth year, one more year and I'm done with school, hopefully by then I'll have finished my mission for the Shinigami King and be able to return to Konoha."

She frowned slightly and tilted her head to the right before she asked, "have you heard from or seen 'Tachi-Chan recently?"

Mikoto's dark eyes glittered with gleeful excitement, however before she could say anything Fukaku stood up and said, "well, I do believe I'll leave the two of you to your gossip. I'll tell the sentries to let you through the gates without trouble next time even if you're bringing someone with you." He left after giving Mikoto a kiss on the cheek and a mere nod goodbye to Kushina.

Kushina watched with bemusement as Fukaku fled the room with all due haste without appearing to be running. She turned back to Mikoto and asked while pointing at the fleeing head of the Uchiha clan, "what's up with him?"

Mikoto giggled and said, "oh, Fukaku doesn't want to admit that Itachi has grown up. He thinks that if he's in denial of it happening then it hasn't actually happened, the day that Itachi announces that he's married or had a child out of wedlock is probably the only way that Fukaku would acknowledge it."

Kushina leaned forward against the table and with a shark-like grin said, "do tell…"

Mikoto smiled back just as wickedly as Kushina, she then leaned back and began to explain, "about two years ago, Itachi brought a man with him when he came to visit us." Kushina rolled her eyes and gestured for Mikoto to continue when her dramatic pause took too long. Mikoto grinned and said, "he introduced him to the clan as his partner in the Akatsuki organization. Fukaku later questioned his decision to bring Kisame to the village, but Kisame told Fukaku that his loyalty lies only with Itachi and that should the leader of Akatsuki's orders contraindicate an order from Itachi, he'd follow Itachi's order."

Kushina whistled and said, "okay, there is something between the two but that could just be loyalty to a teammate."

Mikoto nodded and said, "it could be. Kisame did say he didn't really have a choice in joining the Akatsuki."

Kushina stared at her in shock and asked in a stunned tone, "why did he say that?"

Mikoto shrugged and said, "apparently, the Mizukage had ordered the execution of everyone that possessed a bloodline limit. Kisame himself possess a bloodline limit, he was also one of the seven swordsmen of Kiri. The other six swordsman tried to kill the Mizukage only to either be killed or had to flee Kiri as Missing Nins. Since six of the seven were involved even Kisame had to flee, he never explained why he felt he had no choice to join the Akatsuki."

She then sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose before she continued, "Kisame told me that the surviving members of the seven swordsman went their separate ways after fleeing. One of them, a man by the name of Zabuza Momochi, took a child with him when he left. He said that the kid was just his apprentice but Kisame said that they seemed too close for that, the kid had a bloodline limit, Kisame wasn't sure what the limit was but he thought that Zabuza was more than likely keeping the kid with him to keep the child safe. Kisame wasn't too sure if the child was a girl or a boy," Mikoto shrugged.

Kushina hummed and said, "I don't know why but the name Momochi seems familiar to me…"

Mikoto looked at her and said, "maybe you fought against one. You did fight ninjas from Kiri during the war after all."

Kushina shook her head and said, "no, I swear it's more than that. It's as if I've seen it recently," she grunted in frustration before she sighed and said, "oh, well. I'll figure it out later I guess."

She then leveled a look at her old friend, "now why exactly do you think that Kisame and Itachi are more than friends and comrades?"

Mikoto smirked back at her and said while leaning forward, "because although they were given two futon's to sleep on only one was slept in the entire time they were here."

Kushina raised her left eyebrow skeptically and said, "point. However, you and I used to share hotel rooms and only used a single bed since one of us would stay up to keep watch. What makes you think they weren't doing the same?"

Mikoto conceded Kushina's point with a nod before she said, "true enough they could have." She then smirked at the red haired ex-ANBU operative, "however, that doesn't explain the rather intimate embrace I caught them in!"

Kushina whistled lowly before she nodded, "alright I concede your point." She then leaned forward and asked, "just how intimate of an embrace did you catch them in?" As she asked that she smiled wickedly, knowing full well that her friend would want to brag a bit about her son's catch, obviously Mikoto approved of Itachi's choice in mate if she was finding out about Kisame's past.

Mikoto giggled conspiratorially before she said, "not that intimate, thank Kami. They were curled up in bed together kissing and talking quietly, apparently Kisame refused to do anything when in the same house as me and Fukaku."

After another hour of gossip Kushina told both Fukaku and Mikoto that she was heading back to outside the barrier. Mikoto asked, "how do we get a hold of you? It had been pure luck that one of the Cheetahs ran across one of the sentries when he'd been doing trading."

Kushina hummed in thought before she said while snapping her fingers together, "I got it! Winky!"

With a small pop Winky appeared in front of Kushina and after bowing deeply to her asked, "what can Winky be doing for Mistress?"

Kushina knelt and asked, "Winky would you be willing to bond with a friend of mine so she can contact me if there is an emergency?"

Winky blinked her huge eyes up at Kushina before she nodded and said, "of course Mistress. If you is saying it is okay, then Winky will be doing it."

Mikoto looked down at the strange creature before her and asked, "how would I be bonding to her? And why would I do that?"

Kushina smiled and said, "'Koto-Chan meet Winky the house elf. Winky meet Mikoto Uchiha, she's a Shinobi and the mother of my Godson from my life as Kushina Uzumaki." She placed her hands on Winky's shoulders and said, "I consider her, my sister in all but blood."

Kushina looked up at Mikoto and said, "how you bind yourself to her is simple, you must accept her services as a servant. Now repeat after me: 'I, your name and home village or current residence and/or clan, do hereby accept Winky the house elf as a servant of myself and clan.'"

Mikoto raised her eyebrow skeptically but did as Kushina said, "I, Mikoto Uchiha of Konoha, currently residing in the second village hidden in the whirlpools of the Uchiha clan, do hereby accept Winky the house elf as a servant of myself and the Uchiha Clan."

With a flash of light the bond was sealed and Mikoto swayed slightly while Winky seemed a bit hyper. Fukaku asked, "is she supposed to be like that?"

Kushina nodded and said, "yep, the bond transfers energy to the house elf and drains the person that the house elf is bonded to slightly. It's so the house elf can recognize their masters and mistresses."

She then told Winky, "you can come and clean their homes but only if you have their permission first and you've completed all of your other duties. Understood?" Winky nodded and Kushina continued, "you're to come when Mikoto calls for you unless I have you doing something then either have Kreacher or Dobby come for you."

Kushina nodded in farewell before she left with Winky back to Grimmauld Place, she reappeared in the Foyer of the house and wandered into the kitchen to begin dinner.


	6. Chapter Five: Of Daigon Alley and Gringotts

**Chapter Five:** **Diagon Alley and Gringotts**

* * *

 

On August twentieth, Kushina, her parents and the Weasleys went to Diagon Alley to do their shopping for the upcoming school year. Kushina, Remus and James also planned to make a stop at Gringotts since the bank had sent a letter to Kushina on her birthday stating that she was able to inherit a title and vault from an ancestor. She also had to see if she could pass the test of the hidden vault. According to the goblins no one in the last eight hundred years has been able to pass the tests of the vault, the farthest that anyone has made it was the second task and all those who attempted it got burned severely.

Kushina shook herself out of her thoughts and finished gathering the quills she, Ron and Hermione would need for the next year. No matter how many she bought most would end up broken at the end of the year, the downside of having serpents that could speak English and read it, they sometimes tried to leave messages and unfortunately gripped the quills so hard that they broke.

Kushina chuckled in remembrance when she had come into her rooms to see a snake covered in ink and panicking over a broken quill. She'd taken one look at the poor snake and laughed for several minutes before she calmed down and scooped up the snake to clean it off with a moist towel. The towel had been completely lost but the snake had finally understood to simply wait to deliver its message to her instead of trying to write it down.

She also grabbed some more plain black ink as well as both self rolling scrolls of parchment and sheets of parchment. The three of them had decided to split some of the shopping, Hermione took the apothecary while Kushina took the stationary shop order and Ron grabbed the cauldron shop order. While Kushina was paying for the writing supplies Ron came up and said, "I just ran into Neville."

When Kushina looked up at him he continued, "apparently he's going to attempt to do one year of Potions. If at the end of Sixth year he hasn't done better he's going to withdraw from Potions for Seventh year."

Kushina hummed and said, "well it's good that he's willing to attempt the class." At that Hermione came up with the parcels of ingredients and handed one each to Kushina and Ron, Ron had already handed Kushina her new cauldron and Kushina had just handed Ron his writing supplies.

Kushina then handed Hermione her set, which was double what Kushina's and Ron's were, Ron handed her the new cauldron and asked, "did you have any difficulty getting so many ingredients?"

Hermione shook her head and said, "no, I told him that me and a few friends were splitting the shopping for our sixth years. Apparently most sixth years do this, easier on everyone involved."

Ron looked at the parcels and asked, "Kushina, could you either shrink these down or have one of the house elves take them back to Grimmauld Place?"

Kushina looked down at the large bundles and said with a wince, "yeah, just let me call Winky here. I should have known getting so much ingredients and writing supplies would create large bundles."

After Winky had retrieved the parcels she went back to Grimmauld place and Ron asked, "so where to next?"

Hermione consulted her list and said with a cheerful voice, "Flourish and Blotts! We need to pick up the books for Transfigurations, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions. There are two new books for Charms but only one each for the other three."

Ron groaned and muttered, "I guess we have no choice but to visit your favorite store. Where are we heading after that?"

Kushina snagged the list from Hermione and said, "hmm, it looks like the next stop is Madam Malkin's then to Ollivanders for some wand polish and then to Quality Quidditch Supplies for Dragon Hide gloves. After that is the Magical Menagerie to pick up some Owl and Cat treats, and I need to pick up some sword polish but I can pick that up on Hexagon Alley."

Hermione bounced and said, "alright then lets go!" With that she dragged both red haired teens behind her and as soon as they arrived in front of the book store she dropped their hands before she all but ran inside. The two shook their heads at her enthusiasm for books before they followed her inside at a more sedate pace.

Hermione had already grabbed a basket and was placing three copies of Practical Defensive Magic and its Use Against the Dark Arts, Advanced Potion Making, Quintessence: a Quest, Guide to Advanced Transfigurations, the Standard Book of Spells: Grade Six and Advances in Charming by Leonora L.P. Evans. Kushina had looked down at the book and asked, "when did that one come out?"

Hermione looked down at it and said, "I think it came out about ten years ago. Why?"

Kushina smirked and pointed at the authors name, "that is Aunt Lily's pseudonym when she published anything to do with the Department of Mysteries." Kushina stared down at the book and said, "the department must have released her work so that advances could be made. They probably put all of the proceeds in her vault assuming that I'd inherited it and as her next of kin the right to her monetary gains were mine."

Ron stared at her and said blankly, "your Aunt, our fifth year Potions teacher wrote a book on charms that they use for their NEWT studies?"

Kushina shrugged, "it appears so. But lets keep that little fact between ourselves, shall we?"

The other two nodded their stunned agreement and Kushina took advantaged of their stunned states to pay for the books and sent them to Grimmauld Place via Kreacher this time. She then promptly dragged them to Madam Malkin's where Ron had to get fitted for new school robes, Ginny was already there being fitted for her new robes.

Ron climbed on the pedestal and suffered through standing still while Madam Malkin's assistant marked where the robes were to be hemmed or trimmed. Kushina riffled through the dress robe section before wandering over to the muggle clothing section, she browsed the tee shirt section and did a double take at one of the shirts. She took the hanger from the rack and placed it over her arm while snickering, Hermione looked at her questioningly Kushina remarked, "I like the saying on this one. Admittedly only the Muggle-raised and Muggleborn will get the joke but I find it funny."

Hermione looked at her friend oddly but shrugged it of as Kushina being Kushina, she started going through the muggle clothing section herself and found a black leather jacket that she thought would be perfect for Kenpachi. She also found a leather trench coat for herself and a mini biker leather jacket for Yachiru.

After the four paid for the clothes, Hermione said, "I'll go to Ollivanders and get the wand polish. I'll meet up with you at Quality Quidditch Supplies since I'm sure the three of you need to pick up new gear for the upcoming games."

The four parted ways with three heading to Quality Quidditch Supplies and picked out four sets of Dragonhide gloves. They also picked up new armor and some broom polish for their brooms the care kit was running low on it. Hermione met up with them right as they were paying for the gear and gloves, Hermione tried on her pair and the gloves fit perfectly, not too tight and not too loose.

Kushina looked down at the list she had once again snagged from Hermione and said, "just two more stops. One to the magical menagerie and the last to Hexagon Alley, then I need to head to Gringotts with Dad and Papa."

Ginny frowned and asked, "why do you need to go there?"

Kushina waved her hand dismissively, "I apparently inherited a vault and title from an ancestor. I've already told Dad and Papa that if they ever have another kid they're getting the Potter title not me." She huffed, "I'm already Lady Noir, I don't need to be Lady Potter on top of that."

Ron looked down at the ground before he looked back up and suggested, "why don't Hermione, Ginny and I go get the owl and cat treats while you go get your sword polish. We'll meet you in front of Gringotts, okay?"

Kushina blinked but agreed, "sure. I'll see you in about ten minutes or so." with that she waved goodbye and headed up the alley toward Hexagon Alley.

Fifteen minutes later Kushina met up with Hermione, Ginny and Ron in front of Gringotts, Remus and James were also standing there waiting for her. She panted slightly and said, "sorry for taking so long but the street was a bit crowded and the shop was surprisingly busy." She handed a bag to Hermione and said, "I picked up sword polish for me, Kenpachi and Kisuke."

Hermione and the two Weasley siblings wave goodbye to the Potters as they enter Gringotts and Hermione shouts back, "we'll see you at the Leaky Cauldron for Dinner!" Kushina waved to show that she had heard her then ducked inside Gringotts doors, giving the goblins on either side of the door a nod.

The goblins lead the three down the hallway to a large office and after being allowed to enter, the goblin behind the desk stayed seated while the goblins who escorted the Potter there bowed and said, "the Potter girl as you requested sir."

The seated goblin dismissed the others and after the three had seated themselves stood and said, "my name is Ragnock. I have called you here since you are in the direct line of heir ship and match at least three of the four requirements by the last will and testament of Salazar Scanlon Slytherin-Gryffindor. He required that his heir be born from Ophelia Turk's line, be a female able to speak Parseltongue, have red hair and gold eyes. The last is to be born of a wolf, we do not know if being the child of a werewolf was what he meant or simply having a wolf animagus for a parent. However in all realms you match, that is if being a werewolf's child is what he was reoffering to."

He gestured to the box on the desk and said, "this contains the headship ring of the Slytherin family. If you can open it and the ring accepts you, you will be declared Head of the Slytherin family with all the rights that entails."

Kushina raised her eyebrow and asked, "what are the rights that you speak of?" She made no move to pick up the box nor even go near it.

Ragnock smiled toothily and said, "you would have access to the land known as the Serpents Den. As well as access to all of the Slytherin vaults that Ophelia didn't inherit at her great-grandfathers death. You will also have a seat on the Wizengamot, as well as one fourth ownership of Hogwarts. The other three headships have not been claimed as of yet."

Kushina nodded before she walked up to the box that at first appeared to be made of silver but was instead made of white gold. The Slytherin banner was embossed on the top and when she neared it she heard as a hissing voice said, " _who goes there?"_

Kushina raised her eyebrow and smiled, " _I am Kushina, who are you?"_

" _I am the guardian of the Slytherin ring. Are you wishing to see if you are worthy of being Head of the Family?"_ The embossed serpent asked in its hissing voice.

Kushina nodded and hissed back, " _yes. What do I need to do?"_

" _You will need to answer seven riddles, Lord Slytherin decided that there should be as many riddles as years that students can stay in Hogwarts."_ The serpent gave a hissing laugh before it asked, _"Do you wish to attempt the challenge?"_

Kushina smiled down at the snake and said, " _yes, I do."_

The snake laughed again before it said, _"very well. The first riddle is this:_

_I lack much reason, but often rhyme,_

_And require logic to pass the time,_

_To get the words to tell your kin,_

_Look for clues that lie within,_

_Though all are different, they act the same,_

_The answer is practically in the name._

_What am I?"_

Kushina murmured the words to herself in English causing her parents and Ragnock to look at her puzzled. After a few minutes she snapped her fingers together and hissed at the serpent, _"you are a riddle."_

" _Very good little speaker, do you wish to hear the next?"_ The snake had loosened its coils from the box slightly when she answered the riddle. Kushina hummed a bit before she nodded yes to the snakes question. It hissed a laugh and continued, _"the second riddle is this: I spit like bacon, I'm made from an egg._

_I have plenty of backbone, but lack a good leg._

_I peel layers like onions, yet remain whole._

_I'm as long as a flagpole, yet fit in a hole._

_What am I?"_

Kushina hummed in thought before she gleefully said, " _you're a snake! I'll take the next riddle please!"_

The snake hissed another laugh but obliged her by giving her the third riddle,

" _I'm up and down and round about,_

_Yet all the world can't find me out._

_Though thousands have employed their leisure,_

_They never yet could find my measure._

_I'm found in almost every garden,_

_In a compass or a farden._

_There's neither chariot coach nor mill_

_May move one in except I will._

_What am I?"_

" _A Circle,"_ Kushina said in a singsong tone to the serpent, " _next riddle if you'd please."_

The snake laughed again at her antics and thought to itself, _'she is much like master Salazar.'_ After it thought that it told her the fourth riddle, " _It can be cracked,_

_It can be made,_

_It can be told,_

_It can be played._

_What is it?"_

Kushina smirked before she remarked, _"that is an extremely easy riddle to give a pranksters daughter. It my dear serpent is a Joke."_

" _Correct little serpent speaker, will thy take thy next riddle?"_ asked the snake in its hissing tone.

She nodded and waited for the serpent to speak the fifth riddle, it hissed to itself gently before it said, _"Man walks over, Man walks under,_

_In times of war he burns asunder._

_What is it?"_

" _A bridge,"_ Kushina hissed, she the said, " _that was almost too easy._

The snake pouted and said, _"most never made it past the first two riddles the rest were stumped by numbers three and four. Alright the sixth riddle is thus:_

_This house hold many rooms, one score and six,_

_That shelter a vast mob._

_It lets lions lie down with the lambs,_

_Yet makes both shun the slob._

_None now will lie nestle with nicks and nates,_

_While reams room near the rear._

_Though you and I have separate rooms,_

_Both our cups brim with beer._

_The King and Queen will never mate,_

_(Though hearts and hands hobnob)_

_Because their rooms are separate,_

_If this jail does it's job._

_What house is this that rules thus,_

_Forcing faith to fend with fear?_

_The answer to this riddle lies_

_With death and dying here._

_What am I?"_

Kushina hummed in thought and paced the room before she smirked while she turned back to the snake and hissed, _"you are a dictionary!"_

The snake hissed disappointedly and muttered, _"that riddle has always stumped everyone who has heard it before."_ The snake seemed to be pouting and muttering under its breath about how everyone had always gotten that riddles answer wrong.

Kushina stared at the muttering serpent bemusedly before she asked, _"can I have the seventh riddle now?"_

The serpent looked up at her and hissed, " _very well. The final riddle is this:_

_Halo of water, tongue of wood,_

_Skin of stone, long I've stood._

_My fingers short reach to the sky,_

_Inside my heart, men live and die._

_What am I?"_

" _A castle,"_ answered Kushina promptly. With a final hiss the snake slid off of the boxes top and coiled instead around its sides instead of wrapped around the top, sides and bottom of it. Kushina lifted up the lid and exposed a ring made of white gold, with onyxes, diamonds, two emeralds and a single ruby. The ring was shaped like a snake, the snakes head was studded with diamonds with a pair of emeralds for eyes and a single ruby on the top of the head between the eyes. The neck of the serpent curved under the head to the right, behind the head was eight onyxes, which in turn was followed by fifteen clear diamonds. The snake was curved in such a way to make the upper portion of an S.

After the fifteen diamonds were four onyxes followed by four more diamonds, then came a band that curved under the finger without any gems on it. The band that curved over the finger again was curved to be in the bottom portion of the S shape started by the front half of the snake. Four clear diamonds started the lower half of the S, followed by four onyxes which were followed by five diamonds. The diamonds were in turn followed by five onyxes followed by four diamonds in a line ending at the tip of the tail.

Kushina reached into the box and picked up the ring, she looked up at Ragnock and asked, "is there a particular finger it should be placed on?"

Ragnock merely shrugged so she turned to the serpent and asked it the same question. _"Master Salazar wore his on his left thumb, he never spoke of why save that was less likely to loose it on that finger."_

Kushina looked down at the snake oddly but shrugged and slid the ring onto her left thumb. After she slid the ring on it came to life briefly and bit her hard enough to draw blood. It hissed in contentment and tightened down on her thumb before it stilled into lifelessness again. She ran her right forefinger over the serpent but it didn't so much as twitch so she turned to the snake on the box and asked, _"what was that about?"_

The snake hissed in laughter as it spiraled back around the box's top and bottom, sealing it shut once more, _"it was merely making sure that you were a direct descendant of Ophelia Turk. Master Salazar had it bite her to makes sure that it would know the taste of her line, if you had not been it would have refused to tighten on your finger even if you had answered all the riddles_."

Kushina hummed and said in English, "well that's interesting to know." While her parents and Ragnock were trying to figure out what was interesting Kushina ran through all of the hand seals that she knew as fast as she could. She then nodded to herself and thought, ' _good the ring won't interfere with the seals that I'd need to use for the majority of my jutsus.'_

She then turned to Ragnock and asked, "what was the other matter we needed to address during this meeting?"

Ragnock said, "I'm sure your father has told you about the vault that has been in your family's keeping until it's owner has been discovered. Many families have attempted to gain access but none have made it past the second test. Would you like to attempt the trials of the vault?"

Kushina raised her right eyebrow at him and said, "of course. If I pass the first test then my family stays within the few that might be granted access someday."

Ragnock called a goblin up to his office to take them to the vault. Before they left his office he said, "that vault is one of the few that is unnumbered and it's contents is completely unknown."

* * *

After traveling for several minutes they came to a stop in front of a pair of griffin statues, James stood back with Remus while he gestured for Kushina to continue on. She looked back at him curiously, "if you fail even one test, you can never enter that area again. However so long as you pass the first test then all of your descendants can try their hand at it."

Kushina shrugged and walked past the griffins, both turn their heads and watched her progress up to the large doorway. There seemed to be a barrier across it, she reached up with her left hand and pressed against the barrier, it shattered like glass. She shrugged and continued on, eventually after five minutes of walking she noticed a large wall of flames. She cocked her head to the left and noticed on the floor, walls and ceiling were several markings, most who saw them probably thought them to be runes feeding the flames. But Kushina knew different, Mikoto showed the marks to her once, she had told her that if a genjutsu master wanted to keep a genjutsu up indefinitely they would use the markings to do so.

Kushina smirked and remembered something that Mikoto told her, ' _genjutsus are nothing more than a trick on the mind. If you can ignore the sight and sound of a genjutsu then you won't be harmed by it.'_ By that thought then, theoretically if she ignored the roar of the flames and closed her eyes while thinking to herself that the flames weren't real then she could walk through them unharmed.

She decided to test her theory by attempting it, she closed her eyes and walked through the flames, she emerged on the other side completely unharmed. Meanwhile outside the vault, another of the ten symbols at the bottom of the griffin statues lit up. The first had lit up when she broke the barrier on the doorway, and now that she passed the second test, the second symbol it up. Both Ragnock's and the other goblin's eyes widened when the second symbol lit up while neither of her parents were surprised at all.

Kushina continued down the corridor, she emerged into a large room behind her was the way out and on the other wall were nine archways. Just in front of the opening of the entrance to the room from the wall of flame was a pedestal that had a scroll on top of it.

She snorted as she read it:

Danger lies before thee while safety lies behind,

One among our number will let you move ahead,

Four more will lead to an agonizing death,

The last four lead to nothingness.

We give thee no clues thus, since you must find your own way,

But we can warn thee what to expect if you choose the wrong way.

Down one tunnel you will find a serpent with,

Murderous eyes, and a deadly bite.

Yet another holds a beast with the head of Man,

But Leo's body and Scorpius' tail.

The third holds a beast with Leo's head,

The body of Capricornus and Draco's tail.

While the fourth hold a beast that is proud and fierce,

It will not be bowed, unless you know the secret of it's kind.

The first of the other four hold a maze never-ending,

The second's way is blocked by a wall of stone,

While it's brother would trick you into a fall,

The last would lead thee in circles, or so it would seem.

Thy must answer this or turn back now,

Which among the nine before you,

Leads you to task number four for thee?

Kushina stared down at the parchment and mutters, "well that was very helpful… Not!" At that Thanatos and Anubis appeared behind her and leaned over her shoulders to read the parchment.

Thanatos snorted and said scathingly, "and how is this supposed to help?"

Anubis pointed out gently, "at least she knows what to expect. One tunnel holds a basilisk, another a Manticore, yet another holds a chimaera, the last of the deadly ones is either a griffin or a hippogriff, as both breeds are noted to be proud yet fierce. The other four are a little harder, one is probably a labyrinth, the second ends in a dead end with a wall blocking the way, it's brother ends in a cliff. While the last probably has a spell on it to make you turn around and not notice it, seemingly to go in circles."

Thanatos stared at his partner and asked, "and how exactly does that help us?"

Anubis shrugged, "I don't know." Both Zanpakuto turned back to their mistress who was pacing in front of the nine archways and muttering to herself.

She paused in front of the pedestal and said breathily, "that's it! The scroll isn't meant to help you find the right tunnel, it's meant to help you know which one's not the right one!" She grabbed the scroll from them and pointed at each of the clues in turn, "if I were to walk down each tunnel and encounter something that's not on the list then I'd know that I was on the right track!"

Anubis and Thanatos frowned at each other before they turned to her and Thanatos asked, "so the not-clues were helpful to you then?"

Kushina nodded and said, "so far all of the tests seem geared to test the intelligence and adaptively of the person involved. A wizard would have just used a flame freezing charm on the wall of flames. If the wall of flame had been real it would have worked but since it was an illusion the flame freezing charm would never work, which would cause all those who tried it to fail the second test."

Anubis' eyes lit up and he said excitedly, "but you likened the test to a genjutsu and simply ignored it. You made it through unharmed!"

Kushina gestured at the archways behind her, "this test is similar, if I had come across something like this I would never just blindly pick a tunnel and go. I'd use a clone to do reconnaissance for me, Lord Slytherin would have probably used a snake to scout the tunnels." With that she used the shadow clone jutsu to make a perfect clone and sent it down the first tunnel. A few minutes later Kushina straitened and using a earth release jutsu made a statue in front of the tunnel her clone went down. The statue was of a Griffin, she then made another clone and sent it one it's way, this time when she straitened she placed a small sign that said, 'watch your step.'

Both Zanpakuto snicker at her sense of humor, she then made another clone and sent it on it's way, marking the entrance after a few minutes with a statue of a Manticore. The next one was a Chimaera, while the one beside it got a sign that said, 'no exit to be found here.' While the one after that had her marking it's tunnel with, 'HELP! I'M LOST!'

Thanatos took one look at the sign and asked, "the labyrinth?" She nodded before summoning two more clones and sent one down a tunnel, then once it had dispelled itself she sent the last and marked it's tunnel.

Once the last clone dispelled itself she marked it's tunnel with a large snake, and said to the pair watching her, "shall we go?"

Thanatos and Anubis bowed before chorusing, "after you, my lady!"

She rolled her eyes at the pair before walking down the tunnel marked, 'follow the yellow brick road Dorothy!' Both snickered lightly at that sign, but easily followed her down the tunnel while humming the song from the movie.

This time the tunnel ended in a room with a large body of water in it, the water was steaming hot, she frowned and said, "huh. Magic can't really be used down here, so how would who ever it was expect you to cross it?"

Anubis blinked a bit before he suggested, "perhaps whoever owned this vault wasn't a wizard in a traditional sense. Many people who have seen Shinobi techniques would swear they were magic, perhaps whoever they were, maybe they knew jutsus and designed their tests around them…"

Kushina blinked and said, "you know that would make sense. Shinobi as much as they tend to completely disregard the laws of nature do have a sense of logic, a bizarre sense of logic but logic nevertheless!"

She gestured at the large hot lake and said, "that water is so hot that you'd probably be boiled alive in it. However I don't intend to swim across it nor did the person who designed the test."

Thanatos asked blandly, "then how do you intend to cross it?"

Kushina grinned at him and said, "I plan to pull a Jesus Christ!"

Both stared at her blankly before Anubis said, "I think I speak for both of us when I say, EHHH?"

Kushina snickered then smirked at him before she walked to the lake, then as she continued walking she looked over her shoulder, "I plan to walk across it!" She then suited actions to words and walked onto the water, as she stepped onto the waters surface the small waves from the bubbles flattened to where the surface looked like glass. The pair quickly followed her and when she reached the other side of the lake they breathed a sigh of relief before they stepped off the waters surface.

The three continued on to the next challenge, after a few meters the tunnel emerged into another room where a fierce wind was raging, it was so strong it was lifting boulders and hurling them at the walls of the cavern. Both Zanpakuto gaped at the room and were about to suggest turning back when Kushina laughed before she said, "I commend whoever made these tests. Most wizards and witches would flinch at just the sight of this room without taking note of a few facts."

Anubis asked, "what facts are those mistress?"

Kushina looked back at him, she then pointed at the boulders flying around crashing into the walls, "do you see those?"

He looked at them before he sardonically remarked, "I'd have to be blind not to. Why do you ask mistress?"

She chuckled and said, "because despite their size and the force they're being hurled, they sure don't leave any marks behind."

Both men blinked but looked again at the room, their mistress was right, the boulders were leaving no marks on the walls like they should. They then looked back at Kushina who smirked and said, "this is like the wall of flames. Nothing more than an illusion."

She shook her head and remarked, "an elaborate illusion but an illusion nevertheless. This would cause even the most brave wizard to falter in their tracks, but not me!" With that she ignored the boulders crashing into the walls and focused only on the tunnel she could see on the other side of the room, she allowed herself to develop tunnel vision and walked strait into the heart of the windstorm.

Both of her Zanpakuto gaped at her but after several moments followed her, they completely ignored the room in favor of their mistress allowing the illusion to roll off of them like water from a ducks back. Once they reached the other side they looked behind them and were startled to find the room still and the boulders around the room unmoving. When they turned to Kushina she explained, "the illusion is only visible to those coming in, not to those leaving. A normal person would assume that once they reached the other side the spell would break then reform once they reached the starting side again."

"Oh! That makes sense!" The two chorused with relief as the pair followed her down yet another tunnel that ended in a room with a floor made of ice. Thanatos asked, "is this another illusion?"

She shook her head and said, "nope this is as real as it gets." she glanced the room over and hummed before she said, "this one seems to be testing tactics. There is only a single way to make it through these rooms." She knelt by the ice and peered at it, she sighed and said, "yep I was right. If you step on the ice, the ice will shatter but not break, meaning you can only step on a single square of ice once. If you step on it twice you'll fall."

She looked around again and noticed a set of stairs leading down, she walked over to it and went down, several moments later she came back. She snorted, "there's a room down there, if you do go on a single spot of ice twice you'll just fall. There is a cushioning charm on the floor so you don't hurt yourself."

She stared at the first level of the three tiered floor and nodded decisively to herself, she then stepped out on the ice, she turned her head to look at them. "I suggest that you two return to my inner world for this." Though worried about her they did as she commanded, for although she worded it as a suggestion her tone of voice made it an order.

As she stood on the square of ice she made her way to her left twice before she stepped forward once then again to her left once. She had kept her face toward the exit the entire time she was stepping on a new square. She stepped back one square then to the left twice, before she stepped forward three times. She was now facing a wall, she stepped to the right once before stepping back by one.

She stepped to the right twice before walking forward one then taking a single step to the right then back again. After that she took a step to the right again then back by one then to the right again then back again. She then stepped to the right again before she moved forward by two, she then took a single step to the right and one to the back. Then once to the right and back again, then again to the right. Her back was facing the wall that housed the stairs she came down, she then stepped forward three then five to her left. She then walked down the stairs that had appeared for the next level.

She stepped out on the ice below the stairs and still facing toward the next set of stairs stepped to her right three times. After she reached the corner she stepped forward twice then to her right three times and back once. She stepped to her right two more times then backwards once, then twice to her right again. She ended up in the second rear corner again then she stepped forward twice, putting her in the last front corner. She then stepped to her left three times ending at the steps leading to the next level.

She breathed a sigh of relief when the next set of stairs appeared from under the ice encasing them. She looked down at the next level and smirked before she thought to herself ' _a five year old would be able to figure out how to step on all of the squares_.' She heard both of her Zanpakuto snort before she stepped forward onto the first square. She stepped to her right once then forward once, after that she stepped to her right twice then forward once before she took a final step to her right ending at the stairs leading to the next tunnel.

As Kushina stepped into the next room Thanatos and Anubis appeared behind her and said, "well that was amusing."

Kushina snorted and said, "no what's amusing is this challenge." She gestured out to the room in front of them. The pair gaped at it, the room was mostly five feet wide from what they could see, at it's deepest point it was approximately twelve feet. Four feet from the entrance sat two boulders that were a foot apart and right behind them was another pair. Five feet from the wall where the entrance was were two divots in the floor on either side of the room, just beyond them were two piles of rock against the walls. Two feet beyond the four boulders was a line of three more, but just in front of the boulders was a ledge, just a little too high to climb but still low enough that someone could jump down from it.

Kushina walked to the right and up to the divot located near the wall, she knelt down to inspect it before walking over to the three boulders, she paced in front of them before she nodded sharply. She then pushed the middle boulder of the trio all the way to the back wall, it caught itself in a divot in the one by one spot. She then turned around and stared at the entrance, she noted the two large piles of rock preventing the other two boulders from being moved like the middle one had been.

She thought carefully, before she nodded and walked to her right, she walked until she was standing next to the boulder and pushed it until it was where the middle boulder used to be. She then walked back the way she had come until she was between the two piles of rock, she pushed it back one foot then walked in front of the pile of rocks where it used to sit before pushing it against the other pile. She then walked back through the two piles of rock and went over to the other divot before she pushed it to the middle. She then walked back up to were she had shoved the middle rock, faced the entrance and walked to her right, she walked into the divot, then in front of the pile of rock before walking down one foot, then over to where she was in front of the boulder that she just shoved in the middle. She shoved it through the area between the two pile of rocks until it was in the seven foot wide area, she then stopped pushing it.

She then walked over to the divot on the right side of the room and walked up to the widest part of the room, she then walked to the boulder and shoved it to the left side until it caught in the divot there. She then walked back to the other boulder that she pushed against the pile of rock and shoved it upwards against the top most pile of rocks. She then walked between the two piles and into the divot on the right side of the room, she shoved the boulder to the left then walked down and to the left to stand in front of it. She shoved it until it was in the now six foot wide area of the room then walked over to the divot on the left side of the room and up into the area where the boulder now sat, she then shoved it all the way to the right until it caught in the divot there.

Once that was done she walked until she was standing in-between the group of four boulders, she pushed the ones closest to the entrance until they were flush against the walls. She then jumped down the ledge and pushed both boulders up until they caught in their respective divots. She the walked to where the boulders used to be and pushed the boulders that had been behind them up until they hit the piles of rock, she then shoved them to the left and right respectively until they also got caught in the divots.

The trio felt the ground shake and Kushina noticed a set of stairs leading down in the area beside the first boulder she pushed now rested. She shrugged and walked down the stairs, she then followed the tunnel it led too, it came out into a large cavern that was playing host to an unnatural lightning storm.

Both Thanatos and Anubis gaped and said, "you're not seriously thinking about walking into that are you?" As they watched the lightning struck the ground in regular and irregular intervals, just when they thought they had figured out a pattern to the strikes the strikes would change.

Kushina snorted and said with contempt, "this is just like the wind storm and the wall of flame. It's just an illusion, Thanatos. Don't tell me you're scared of a little lightning?"

He puffed up in indignation and said, "of course not!" Just then lightning struck the ground near him and he hid behind Anubis, Kushina raised her eyebrow skeptically. He swallowed nervously and said, "I may just be the tiniest bit afraid of lightning. After all, I can't fly in a lightning storm, only idiots would do that!"

Kushina smirked and said, "if you want go into my inner world. I won't get hurt walking through this you know. It's just an illusion, this is to test someone not kill them after all." With that she spun on her heel and stalked through the lightning storm, although the lightning struck near her it never hit her even once.

After she had reached the other side she sighed and rolled her shoulders, once she was done with that she said, "well it looks like I'm on the last task. Those statues only had ten symbols on them and if the first test counts then I should be on the tenth right now." With that she strode forward and walked down the hallway until she had reached a room that housed a large door. In front of the door was another pedestal it housed another scroll, she opened it and snickered with amusement.

_**To my descendant,** _

_**My congratulations on making it to the tenth and final task. Though I did make sure that the tasks were not too difficult for thee, it would still take great skill to finish them successfully. However the final task twill be most difficult for you to complete unless thy have been trained in my families art.** _

_**As such if thee pass this task thy will prove thyself worthy to be mine heir. Finish the seal upon the door and it shalt open.** _

_**Thy ancestor, Godric, Griffin of the Moor** _

She quickly completed the seal and muttered, "that wasn't even that difficult of a seal. The one that was used to keep the Kyuubi back was more intricate than that one was…" The vault opened and she raised an eyebrow at the contents, the first thing she saw was the floor to ceiling bookcases filled with scrolls and books. She grinned at the sight and both of her Zanpakuto peeked in behind her, she then wandered into the vault and poked around. She saw a pedestal with a box on top of it.

She walked over to get a better look and found the Gryffindor house banner on it, she pressed her hand against the top and felt a prick on her palm. She quickly drew her hand away and noticed that the lions front claws were blood red. She then noticed that the top was now loose from the bottom half. She opened the box and found a pair of rings inside it. One was a signet ring with a lion rampant on it, she assumed that it was the signet ring of the Gryffindor Family.

The other ring was of a male lion's head, it's eyes were rubies and held in it's mouth was an emerald. She leaned down to get a better look and noticed in the heart of the emerald was a slit, almost like a snakes pupil. She snorted but picked up the ring and muttered to herself, "well, here it goes…"

She put the ring on her right thumb and felt a prick on the inside after a few seconds, she then felt the ring tighten and the lion head gave a small roar around the jewel. She looked down at it and said, "I'm assuming that means that you accepted me."

Thanatos asked while poking around in some of the scrolls, "doesn't that mean you're head of both the Gryffindor Family and Slytherin Family?"

Kushina snorted and said, "that doesn't mean much. That would be only myself and Dad after all. Well I suppose Naruto and anyone descended of the Sabaku family would also be considered Gryffindor's since he was the eldest of the three."

She then wandered over to the back of the vault and gaped in shock, she found five portraits frozen in mid movement. One had a red-haired man, another held a red haired woman with a brown haired grey eyed man. Yet another had a black haired woman with brown eyes she was seated next to a blond haired man with bright blue eyes. The last that held a single person was of a black haired hazel eyed man, his hair was shoulder length and his eyes were dancing with mischief. The very last portrait was of Hogwarts, the lake was clear and calm, the Whomping willow nowhere to be seen, the forest seemed less dark and Belinda was in the background. She appeared to be watching the castle with fondness and bemusement, almost as if she couldn't believe it was even standing there.

Anubis and Thanatos came over, they leaned over her shoulder to look at the portraits, Thanatos looked at her with a slight bit of awe and asked, "are those the portraits of the founders?"

Kushina nodded and murmured, "I think they are. And more than that, I think that is a portrait done just after Hogwarts was finished." She gestured to the final painting and hovered her hand just over the surface. She muttered, "I wonder if I can call a house elf down here so I can take these back with me…"

Anubis looked around and noticed off in a corner was a trunk, he pointed at it and asked, "couldn't you put them in that trunk over there?"

She frowned and said, "only if it's inside is larger than it's outside. Which is very well possible. Lets check it real quick, if it does have the right charms on it, I'll put all five paintings in it and bring it back with me."

To the relief of all three, the trunk did indeed have the necessary charms on it and Kushina carefully placed all five paintings in the trunk before she closed it and shrunk it. She knew the ministry couldn't detect the magic done inside of the vaults of Gringotts, she had at one time muttered that an underage kid could spend all day in their trust vault practicing magic and never be caught by the ministry.

Before they left the vault Kushina double checked to make sure her second ring wouldn't interfere with her ability to use her hand signs. Thankfully it didn't she suspected the only reason it didn't was because she placed it on her thumb and not one of her fingers. Thanatos and Anubis then went back into her inner world, Kushina walked out of the vault then looked around the antechamber to the vault, she noticed in a corner was a staircase. She smirked and thought to herself, ' _I guess the Griffin of the Moor didn't want to have to deal with the traps after he set them up. I wonder if I'll be able to take this staircase next time instead of trailing my way through the traps.'_

With that she walked up the winding staircase and finally emerged just past the griffin statues. She found her parents waiting patiently while the two goblins were gaping at the base of the griffin statues. James looked up to see his daughter coming toward them with almost a saunter to her step, he laughed and asked, "so whose vault was it?"

She smirked at him and said, "oh, just a certain Griffin of the Moors. He seemed to be most determined that only a worthy heir would be picked." She held up her right hand and displayed the ring on her right thumb, she then reached in her pocket and pulled out the Gryffindor Signet ring.

She smirked at the group smugly and said, "I think I now have to be referred by people I don't like as Lady Gryffindor-Slytherin!" She smiled dreamily before she said, "I think I'll make Voldy Shorts call me Lady Slytherin!" She bounced to the cart and asked the stunned Ragnock and Griphook, "can you take us up to the surface, please? We need to go have dinner."


	7. Chapter Six: Train Rides can be Very, Very Interesting!

**Chapter Six:** **Train Rides can be Very, Very Interesting…**

* * *

 

Despite the fact that everyone had packed their trunks the night before and only two out of the Weasley kids were going to Hogwarts they still managed to leave the house late. Kushina looked over at Hermione with a wry smile on her face and said, "I'm beginning to think that our trips to school are cursed."

Hermione snorted and said, "nonsense. It's the Weasley families trips that are cursed, I mean ever since I've started going to the station with them I've ended up late every time!"

The Shinigami and Arrancar had already left for Hogwarts the night before, due to her being assigned as Jushiro's guide around the Wizarding world Tonks was also going to be at Hogwarts this year. Percy was currently spending more time at Saint Mungos then he ever thought he would, while Kingsley was learning more about the way the ministry was run then he'd ever thought he'd know.

Once they had arrived at Kings Cross station they quickly loaded their trunks onto trolleys and made their way to the pillar separating platforms nine and ten, Ron and Kushina leaned against the wall nonchalantly. The muggles surrounding them ignored the lounging teens who looked for all the world to be waiting for their train to get there, after a few moments they slid into platform nine and three quarters. Hermione and Ginny quickly followed their example, after Hermione had emerged on the other side she said, "that was a good idea. If anyone looked back over they would have assumed that your train had arrived and you were boarding it."

Kushina waved her hand dismissively at Hermione's compliment and said, "it was mostly Ron's idea last year. I just went with it." She noticed Neville saying goodbye to his mom and dad out of the corner of her eye, she waved at Alice and Frank before making her way to the train to put her trunk away. The trio and Ginny found a compartment, they put their trunks in the overhead storage areas then jumped back off the train after Kushina had placed a sign on the door of the compartment that said, 'reserved already.'

To Ron and Hermione's surprise Lee was on the platform, they knew that he wasn't going back to Hogwarts so what in the world was he doing on the platform, Lee greeted the trio with a grin before he gave Kushina wink. Theodore Nott had just arrived on the platform by floo but before he could do more than move away from the fire places and dust himself off, his wrist was grabbed by Lee.

Lee had pulled Theo close to him before he dipped him back and gave him a long French kiss, by the time that Lee let Theo go from the kiss, Theo was breathless and dazed. Lee then waved goodbye to everyone on the platform and apparated away, back to wherever he was supposed to be instead of here.

Kushina snickered before she walked over to the dazed Slytherin and waved her hand in front of his face, he didn't react at all to the hand. She then chuckled and announced, "I think we can safely say that in Theo's opinion, Lee is a damn good kisser!" Theo had just come out of his daze when she'd announced that so he glared at her, cast the Locomotor charm on his trunk and stormed off to board the train in a huff.

Kushina smirked and said smugly, "I love it when a plan comes together so well." Ron rolled his eyes at his red haired friends antics then grabbed Hermione and Kushina by the arm before he dragged them off to say goodbye to his parents and a see you later to Kushina's. After they had all said their goodbyes they boarded the train and shortly after that the train left the station.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny all had to go to the prefects meeting so Kushina led Neville to the compartment they had claimed for themselves. After she helped him place his trunk on the upper shelf, she asked him, "so how was your summer?"

Neville grinned at her and said, "it was good. Mom and Dad took me on a trip to France to see the gardens of Versailles, then from Paris to the Giverny Gardens and finally to Florence, Italy to see the Boboli Garden." He bounced in his seat slightly and said, "Mom told me that if I wanted to I could try my hand at redoing the garden at the house!" Just as he was about to start telling Kushina his plans for the garden the door to the compartment opened and Draco Malfoy stepped in through it.

Draco shut the door behind him, he cast several privacy charms over the compartment then cleared his throat and stared at the two who were watching him curiously. Kushina raised her eyebrows at him curiously then asked what was going through both her and Neville's minds, "something I can do for you, Malfoy?"

He took a deep breath before he let it out slowly and he said as he stared her straight in the eye, "I seek a truce with the House of Lions."

Kushina didn't allow one trace of the surprise she felt to cross her face, instead she stared at him blandly before she asked, "do you see a truce for the House of Serpents with the House of Lions? Or do you seek a truce between the House of Lion and the Dragon of Bad Faith?"

Draco's mercury colored eyes flashed with discomfort before he answered, "the second. If anyone else of the House of Serpents seeks a Truce with the House of Lions… That is their business."

Kushina looked at him and asked, "why do thee ask the House of Lions for a truce, Dragon of Bad Faith?"

Draco's eyes flash in anger and disgust, he then snarls, "my father may be willing to bow to him. But I will not!"

Kushina hummed slightly in thought for several moments before she asked, "and what will be the terms of this truce?"

Draco squirmed uncomfortably before he said, "that is something for you to decide upon. As the seeker of the truce I can only accept your terms if they are agreeable to me." He looked away from her piercing gaze and waited for her decision.

She then thought carefully for several long moments before she reached in the bag beside her and pulled out a piece of parchment, a bottle of ink and an eagle feather quill. She started to write on the sheet for several moments before she finished, after she finished she handed the sheet over to Draco for him to read. Before he could read it however she said, "if you are not comfortable with these terms merely say so and I'll see if I can change it."

She stared at him and said sharply, "if on the other hand you agree to the terms… We will sign it here and now with Neville as our witness and bonder."

Draco swallowed in nervousness before he began to read the document that she had written. After he read the terms he sighed in relief, all of the terms were relatively simple and he could easily follow them. If Kushina kept her part of the bargain then the Gryffindors would ignore him unless he caused trouble for them and seeing as how he was trying to get on Astoria's good side he wasn't about to jeopardize that by acting up in any way. He looked up at Kushina and said formally, "I accept thy terms."

She raised her eyebrow and nodded before takin the parchment back from him and lying in on the table between the seats, she then signed her name and titles with a flourish. Draco took one look at the titles and gulped in shock, he quickly signed his own name and single title. Neville also looked the sheet over and signed his name and the titles that could be assigned to him. The sheet of parchment now read as follows:

**Terms of Agreement between Draco Malfoy and the House of Gryffindor**

**1.) No referring to Muggles, Muggleborns, or Halfbloods by the term Mudblood.**

**2.) No wand drawing or hexing unless provoked.**

**3.) Don't insult us and we won't insult you.**

**4.) If found violating these rules the Parties concerned will be severely pranked by the Student Head of Gryffindor House.**

**5.) These terms of agreement are strictly concerning the White Dragon of Bad Faith and the House of Lions. No other of the serpent house is included in these rules.**

_**Draco Lucius Malfoy** _

**Scion of the Malfoy Family**

**Draco Nulli Arcus**

_**Kushina Ruri Potter-Lupin** _

**Scion of the Potter Family**

**Co-Head of House Noir**

**Head of the Gryffindor Family**

**Head of the Slytherin Family**

_**Neville Frank Longbottom** _

**Scion of the Longbottom Family**

**Ally of House Noir**

**Ally of the Potter Family**

After the terms of agreement had been signed Kushina used a multiplication charm on it to make three copies. One she handed to Draco, another she kept for herself, the third copy was given to Neville and the original was sealed by Kushina before being handed to Kreacher to place in her vault for safe keeping.

With a genial nod to the two Gryffindors Draco left the compartment, as he left Ron, Hermione, Luna and Ginny came in, Ron raised an eyebrow over Draco's rather calm attitude. Ron threw himself into the seat beside, Kushina and asked, "what was that about?"

Kushina opened the fifth volume of Icha Icha and said, "the Dragon of Bad Faith asked for a truce with the House of Lions." She pulled out her copy of the truce terms ad let them read it.

Ginny looked at the words under Draco's single title and asked, "what does Draco Nulli Arcus mean?"

Kushina answered absently while reading a passage halfway through the book, "I believe it means something along the lines of: the dragon bows to no one." She then looked up with a smirk and said, "Draco simply for once got to see just what his father has been doing to the Malfoy name. The Malfoy's family motto used to be, 'Malfoy's bow to no one.' Lucius Malfoy has not only bowed to Voldemort, he has groveled at his feet, kissed the bottom of Voldemort's robes. He has done more to damage the Malfoy Family reputation than if he had started to help muggles and marry a muggleborn."

Kushina looked around the compartment, Astoria had come in the room shortly after Ron had asked about the truce, she gaped at the next part that Kushina said, "Draco refuses to kneel and bow. He was raised to believe that his family bowed to no one, his personal motto states that he won't bow."

Astoria cleared her throat and said, "I guess I don't need to ask if the rumor about a truce between the House of Lions and Draco Malfoy is true or not…"

Kushina looked up at the blond haired grey-eyed girl in amusement before she remarked, "true, I guess you don't. Do you mind that he asked for one?"

Astoria shook her head and said, "no I don't mind. Actually if he keeps this attitude up he might just stop being an arrogant bullying toe rag."

At that remark everyone in the compartment started laughing, Ron shook his head in amusement before he said, "ah, that day is forever engraved in my memory. Right next to the bouncing ferret memory from fourth year and Hermione slapping him during third year…"

Astoria grinned and said, "well it was one of my finest moments. Plus the looks on Professor Potter and Professor Lily's faces were priceless."

Kushina snickered and said while she looked over at the younger girl, "well I don't think they ever thought someone would recreate that scene in the middle of the Great Hall you know."

Daphne, Blaise, Tracy and Lillian came into the compartment shortly after she said that, Daphne took one look at the laughing teens before she asked, "what's so funny?" She cocked her head to the side as she gazed at them curiously.

Astoria snickered and said while straightening from where she had leaned against the wall for support as she laughed, "we were just remembering the last time Draco asked me out on a date."

The four Slytherin's lips twitched and they started to laugh as well, after Lillian calmed her laughter she said, "yeah. That was hilarious in and of itself," she then looked at Kushina and said, "so is it true? Did Draco really ask the House of Gryffindor for a Truce?"

Kushina nodded and said, "yes. And I accepted the truce as long as he followed five terms of agreement. He agreed to the terms and after he signed the paper he left, I made three copies, one for Draco, one for me and one for Neville who acted as the witness and Binder. The original went to my vault for safe keeping."

Daphne smiled in amusement before she ruffled her baby sisters hair and said, "I just came by to ask if the rumor was true. Now that I've found out it is I'll head back to my compartment. I'll see you later, 'Story." She then waved goodbye to the people in the compartment and left. Tracy, Blaise and Lillian all waved or nodded farewell before they too left.

After the four Slytherins had left Kushina held up a muggle deck of cards and asked, "does anyone here want to play Blackjack?"

Hermione groaned when Ron asked, "what's Blackjack?"

Kushina grinned at her red haired friend before she said gleefully, "Blackjack is a muggle card game where the goal is to beat the dealers hand. If your hand goes over the number of twenty one you forfeit the game, the Jacks, Queens, Kings and Tens are all worth ten points, the other numbered cards are worth their face and the Ace is worth either eleven points or one point depended on whether or not your playing hard or soft. The dealer chooses if your playing hard or soft, personally I prefer to deal out cards until someone breaks the twenty one limit or decides to stop. But that's your choice…" She stared expectantly around the compartment, Astoria looked intrigued while Hermione looked resigned, Ron was bemused while Ginny, Luna and Neville merely had curiosity in their expressions.

Astoria said, "I'll play so long as we're not betting money."

Ron, Ginny, and Neville also agreed to play, Hermione remarked, "no thanks. I think I'll just watch and keep track of who's winning."

Kushina shuffled the deck and said, "alright, Hermione is our scorekeeper and I'll play dealer. After three rounds we'll switch dealers unless you all prefer that we not switch…"

Astoria blinked and said, "I think you better stay dealer since none of us know how to play this game."

Kushina nodded and said, "alright, then. Lets get started," with that she transfigured a chocolate frog box into a poker table that wouldn't look out of place in a high class casino. Hermione raised her eyebrow at that, she wondered where Kushina had seen a poker table that she could put that much detail into a transfiguration considering she's not that good at that subject.

After she shuffled the deck again she dealt the cards, she placed two cards in front of her and then dealt two cards to everyone else, one of the cards in front of her was face up. It was a seven, she said, "alright, take a look at your cards and decide if you want another one or if your going to keep your hand like it is. Don't show anyone your hand or you're out of the game." After everyone nodded and began to look at their cards Kushina stood behind the table quietly.

Everyone chose to take a card, Neville groaned along with Astoria, when Kushina raised an eyebrow at them, the two said in chorus, "I'm over twenty-one."

Kushina nodded and Hermione wrote down that both Neville and Astoria broke the first round. Kushina stared at the last two and asked, "do either of you want another card?" Ron shook his head while Ginny thought carefully before she too shook her head. "Alright then everyone except Neville and Astoria place your cards face up."

She looked over the hands and said, "Dealers hand is eighteen. Ron's hand is two sixes and a nine, which when added equal to twenty one. Ginny's hand is an eight, a two and a four which add up to fourteen. Ron wins this round with twenty one points."

As she gathered the cards and shuffled them, she said, "we'll play twenty-one rounds of this or however many we can before we reach Hogwarts. Whoever has the most hands won at the end of this gets five gallons from the dealer." Ron cheered a bit but quieted down easily enough at Kushina's glare. "Anytime you want to step out of the game you may, anyone can then join the game in your place. Understand?"

Everyone nodded so she started to deal again, Ron was the furthest to her right then came Ginny followed by Astoria then finally Neville on her furthest left. She dealt the cards singly, first one down to herself, then one to Ron followed by one to Ginny then one to Astoria ending with one to Neville she then placed one face up in front of her, then the rest face down, one in front of every person. She then said, "same rules as last time."

Everyone except Ron took a card, Neville took one look at his hand and folded, Hermione quickly marked him down as out. The others indicated they were done with their cards so she said, "cards up then."

She read off the score for Hermione, "Dealer: twelve, Ron: nineteen, Ginny: twenty and Astoria with seventeen. All hands beat the dealer, but Ginny wins the hand." She gathered the cards from the table and shuffled them again, she then laid out the hands to everyone and waited patiently for their choices.

The third round everyone took a card but Ginny folded, while the rest indicated they were done. After they turned their cards face up, Kushina turned hers up to see if any of them beat the Dealer. Everyone that played beat the dealer so Kushina read off the score, "Dealer: ten, Ron: fifteen, Astoria: seventeen and Neville with twenty. Neville wins this round."

She shuffled the cards and then dealt them again, only Astoria took a card this round then everyone turned their cards up. Kushina read off the score for round four, "Dealer: Fifteen, Ron: twenty, Ginny: twenty, Astoria: sixteen, Neville: nineteen. Ron and Ginny tie this round."

As Kushina shuffled the cards Astoria said, "I think I'll get out of the game in two rounds." Kushina nodded in acknowledgment before she dealt the fifth hand.

No one takes any cards on the fifth round of Blackjack so Kushina has them turn their cards up then her own, she then reads off the score. "Dealer wins this round with a Jack and a King. Ron has nineteen, Ginny takes eighteen, Astoria has seventeen while Neville has fourteen."

Kushina shuffled then dealt the cards again, everyone takes a card and Neville folds indicating that he has over twenty-one in his hand,. Hermione marked down the fold, the other three indicate they're done gathering cards and everyone turns up their cards. Kushina reads off the score, "Ron wins with twenty one. Dealer has twenty, Ginny has eighteen, Astoria has twelve."

As Kushina shuffled the deck Astoria got up from the table and sat down by Hermione. Ron, Ginny and Neville stayed at the table and accepted the next round of cards. As the cards were dealt Ginny said, "I think I'll get out of the game after the next round." Kushina nodded to show she heard her as she dealt the cards.

Everyone took note of the three facing up and knew that she didn't have a very high hand. Ron decided not to take another card, Ginny and Neville did take another, after the cards were dealt both Neville and Ginny indicated that they were through with getting them. All four players turned up their cards and Kushina read off the score, "Dealer plays thirteen, Ron has nineteen, Ginny plays with fifteen and Neville wins with twenty."

Hermione marked down the scores and Kushina shuffled the deck, as she was dealing out the eight round of Blackjack Seamus and Dean walk into the compartment. Seamus raises a blond eyebrow and asked, "what are you doing?"

Ron answered absently while staring at his hand, "playing Blackjack. Why? Do you want to join the game?"

Seamus blinked a bit at the answer but said, "sure. But there is only one seat open and two of us." He pointed out wryly.

Ginny stared hard at her hand before she said absently, "don't worry as soon as this round is over I'm just going to observe. Which will open up another seat allowing both of you to take a seat at the table."

The dealer card up was a King so all of them were leery about taking another card out of the three only Neville took a card. After Neville indicated he was through everyone turned their cards up and Kushina smirked and said, "Dealer and one player tie. Ron has eighteen, Ginny also plays eighteen. Neville and Dealer play twenty-one."

Ginny got up from her seat then Seamus and Dean sat down, they watched with interest as Kushina shuffled the deck. Kushina looked at he pair and inquired, "have either of you ever played Blackjack, other wise known as twenty one, before?"

Seamus shook his head while Dean nodded, when Kushina raised her left eyebrow at him in askance he explained, "mom, me and my dad would play it before I started going to Hogwarts."

Kushina hummed before she turned to Seamus and said, "the rules of the game are simple. You have to beat the dealers hand without going over twenty one. The dealer only gets two cards while the other players can request as many as you like. If you go over twenty one that's considered a bust and you're out of the game until the next round. The ace is either eleven points or one point, have you ever seen a deck of muggle playing cards?"

Seamus shook his head no and looked at her, she sighed before leafing through the deck to pull out a king, queen, jack and ace. She pulled out the King of Diamonds, the Queen of Hearts, the Jack of Clubs, and the Ace of Spades. She held up the King and said, "this is the King of Diamonds, he's worth ten points." She then held up the Queen and Jack, "these are the Queen of Hearts and the Jack of Clubs, they are also worth ten points." She then held up the Ace of Spades, "this is the Ace of Spades, usually considered the gamblers card. All aces have an A on them along with the symbol of their suit, the other cards are numbered and the number on them is how many points they are worth. Got it?"

Seamus nodded and said, "yeah I got it."

"Okay then," Kushina said as she added the four cards back to the deck and reshuffled the deck. "Hermione is keeping score for each of the rounds, so she'll mark out Astoria and Ginny then put you two in their places on the score card." With that said she dealt the next round.

Seamus looked down at his hand and decided to be conservative by not taking any cards. Ron took two same with Dean, Neville took none. Kushina looked at the four and asked, "all done?" After they all indicated that they were she gestured for them to turn their cards up while she did the same.

She took a careful look over the cards then commented to Hermione the score for this round, "Dealer played fifteen, Ron played sixteen, Seamus has eighteen, Dean has twenty and Neville has sixteen. All players beat the Dealer but Dean wins the round by points."

Once again Kushina shuffled the deck and dealt a round of cards, Ron winces at the queen facing up in the dealer spot. Neville declines to take a card same with Dean, Seamus and Ron each take a card, Seamus groans and places the cards down on the table. Hermione marks him out of the round.

Kushina has everyone place their cards up and called out the score for the tenth round, "Dealer plays twelve, Neville plays twenty, Dean plays seventeen and Ron wins with a score of twenty one."

Kushina quickly shuffled the cards and dealt out the next hand, her card that was exposed was an eight and she let the four playing against her decide if they wanted another card or not. Dean took four cards, while Ron took only one, neither Neville nor Seamus took another card.

After they turned over their cards Kushina exposed the three that had been turned over and commented, "Dealer plays eleven. Ron played eighteen, Seamus played fifteen, Neville used sixteen and Dean won with twenty one."

Kushina gathered up the cards and said, "lets continue one to round number twelve shall we?" She got murmurs of agreement from all four men in front of her and she smirked as she shuffled then dealt the cards.

Only Neville took a card this time, Ron, Seamus and Dean all stuck with the cards they'd been dealt. After they were flipped Kushina read out the scores, "Dealer: eighteen, Ron: twenty, Seamus: twenty and Neville with sixteen."

She then gathered up the cards and shuffled them before she dealt the next hand, this time only Dean took a card while the other three declined to do so. She had them flip their cards then she flipped her own. She snorted before she said wryly, "Dealer plays nine. Ron played sixteen, Seamus played eighteen, Neville played thirteen and Dean wins with an Ace, a Six and a four combined that makes twenty one."

She then shuffled the cards and dealt the fourteenth round, Ron and Dean declined any cards while Seamus took one and Neville took three. She announced the score after having everyone turn their cards over, "Dealer: eighteen, Neville: seventeen, Dean: twenty, Seamus: twenty and Ron with twenty-one."

The next round only Ron and Neville took cards while both Seamus and Dean declined to do so. Kushina smirked at the result and called out to Hermione, "Dealer: thirteen, Ron: twenty, Neville: fifteen, Seamus: twenty and Dean wins with twenty-one." She stared at the lot and said, "so far the players has been winning and the house is losing badly."

Kushina laid out the next set of cards, after several moments no one took a card, they just turned their cards face up. Kushina read them out loud, "Dealer plays a ten and eight, Ron plays an ace and a four, Seamus plays a queen and an eight, Dean plays a ten and nine, while Neville plays a seven and five. Dean wins the sixteenth round."

She then took the cards from the table and shuffled them before she dealt another hand, she watched with bemusement as the four males deliberated over whether or not to take a card. In the end only Seamus and Ron took another card, after that she turned over the only card of her lying face down and revealed the Dealers hand. She snickered and commented, "Dealer played a fifteen, Ron played a queen, a nine and a two equaling to twenty-one. Seamus played a nine, a eight and a three totaling to twenty, Dean played an eight and a seven equaling fifteen. While Neville played a four and a ten leaving him with the smallest point for this turn at fourteen.":

After shuffling and dealing again she remarked to Hermione the score, "Dealer played a ten and eight, Ron played a seven, three and a four totaling fourteen. Seamus has a two, a six and a queen bringing his total up to eighteen, Dean has a queen, a four and a seven leaving him a total of twenty one. While Neville played a nine, a four, a five and a two giving him a total of twenty."

As she scooped up the cards from the table and began to shuffle them she remarked, "obviously Dean won that round. We have three rounds left to go before we find out who the Grand winner is." With that sardonic remark she dealt everyone their cards and waited to see if she'd need to deal more. Only Dean and Neville asked for cards while Ron and Seamus passed.

She flipped over her card while the other four flipped over theirs, she shook her head and called out the score. "Dealer: twenty, Ron: eighteen, Seamus: fifteen, Dean: sixteen and Neville with a Jack, a three and an eight bring his total up to twenty-one. Neville wins round number nineteen."

She shuffled and dealt again, this time only Ron and Seamus took cards while Dean and Neville declined to do so. After all the cards were flipped she called out the score, "Dealer: twenty, Ron: nineteen, Seamus: twenty, Dean: twenty and Neville has seventeen. It would appear that the Dealer ties with Seamus and Dean at twenty points for round number twenty. Now that is ironic…"

As she shuffled she said, "alright gentlemen this is the last round unless we have a tie in the final score. So lets get to it," with that she laid down the cards out of the four only Ron took a card. After the cards were flipped she called out the score, "Dealer: eighteen, Ron: seventeen, Seamus: twelve, Dean: eighteen, and Neville with seventeen. Alright Hermione figure out who won the most games out of twenty one."

Hermione cleared her throat after several moment and said, "Dean Thomas and Ronald Weasley tie with six games won each. Neville Longbottom has a total of three games while Ginny Weasley has one, neither Astoria Greengrass nor Seamus Finnigan won a single game. There were four ties in total, it appears that there will have to be a tie breaker between Ron and Dean."

Kushina hummed and said, "so it would seem." She then shrugged before pulling out the deck shuffled it and dealt out a hand to herself, Ron and Dean. The pair declined to take another card so she had them flip the cards over and said, "Dealer has fourteen. Ron has a queen and a ten while Dean has a seven and a six. Ron Weasley wins the Hogwarts express Blackjack tournament."

Kushina then put up the deck of cards and then reached into her money pouch, she took five galleons out then handed them to Ron before she said, "your winnings Mister Weasley."

* * *

Meanwhile in the Seireitei, Shuhei was making his way to his Captains office and knocked on the door twice, he heard, "it's open, Lieutenant."

With that he opened the door and walked in, he set the stack of papers on the desk then said, "the requisition forms you requested, Captain."

The silver haired man looked up at the dark haired grey-eyed man and asked in an exasperated tone, "when are you going to start calling me Kensei like I asked you to, Lieutenant Hisagi?" After he asked that he turned his attention to the stack of papers that Shuhei had brought him and began to fill them out.

Shuhei's grey eyes widened in shock before they narrowed in anger and he said somewhat snappishly, "probably when you start calling me Shuhei instead of Lieutenant." With that he turned and began to stalk to the door in a fit of anger.

Kensei paused in writing and looked up at the man who was halfway to the door, "if that's what it takes to get you to call me by my first name so be it. Sit down Shuhei and take a load off your feet, you've been running around all day without taking a break." As he spoke he pointed toward the couch that Kushina had dragged into the office the last time she visited.

Shuhei turned around and stared at him in shocked delight, but then that turned to confusion when he was ordered to take a seat on the couch near Kensei's desk. But after several minutes of him staring at Kensei, the silver haired Visored looked up at him with an eyebrow raised as if asking, 'what are you staring at me for? I didn't stutter.' He swallowed a bit before he walked over and sat down on the couch, as he sat down, Kensei said, "tell me how the men are doing."

As Kensei filled out the requisition forms for his squad he let the sound of Shuhei's voice roll over him, he didn't bother to tell his lieutenant that he didn't actually need a report since he always watched Shuhei working with the men in the mornings. He merely liked the way Shuhei's voice sounded when he was giving reports.

After he was finished with the requisitions he placed them in the out box and stood up, after he stretched he asked Shuhei, "are you hungry?"

Shuhei blinked up at him and said, "I could eat. Why?"

Kensei scratched at his jaw line and said, "'cause I feel like cooking but I don't cook unless I'm cooking for more than myself."

Shuhei blinked again before he stood up from the couch and said, "lead the way Kensei." Kensei snorted but led the way back to his house in the Rukongai, surprisingly both himself and Gin Ichimaru preferred to live in the Rukongai. Although Gin shared his house with Rangiku and lived in the east district, while Kensei lived in the north district and lived alone. He glanced at Shuhei and thought to himself, ' _perhaps I won't be living alone for much longer. I know Shuhei lives in the lieutenants quarters at the division, maybe I can convince him to stay at my house for the night rather than making the trip back to the division…'_

He heard a chuckle from his mind and Tachikaze commented, _**'planning on taking him to bed are you?'**_

Kensei's eyes widened and he vehemently denied the accusation, _**'of course not! I don't think he even realizes that I'm courting him!'**_ They quickly approached Kensei's house and after unlocking the door Kensei went inside, he took off his sandals and set them by the door. Shuhei shrugged but took of his and set them to the side, he noticed a double sword stand on a table in the living room. He watched as Kensei walked over toward it and set Tachikaze on the back rack, Kensei looked over his shoulder and said, "you can put your Zanpakuto on the front rack."

Shuhei blinked at the offer but hesitantly took off his Zanpakuto and set it on the rack indicated, he traced his fingers along it's sheath then stepped away before he was tempted to touch Kensei's Zanpakuto.

* * *

Unknown to both Kensei and Shuhei their inner worlds were starting to make contact with one another. The mountains that made up Kensei's inner world were beginning to brush up against the jungles and savannas that made up Shuhei's, Tachikaze preferred the high altitudes of the mountains while Kazeshini liked the darkness of the jungles and the open plains of the savannas.

Kazeshini sighed in boredom as he flopped down on the grass of the savanna, he stared blankly up at the sky watching as the clouds rolled past him. Although he was bored he was also happy that his master no longer feared him so much nor did his master hate his blades shape anymore. He had noticed that as his master feared him less and hated his blades shape less the more his appearance changed, instead of being a totally dark and foreboding figure he was now less intimidating. He was just glad that his hair, eyes and the way he dressed stayed the same, although he thought it odd about the red tattoos he had he didn't object to them.

All of the sudden from his left he heard a chipper voice ask, "what are you looking at?"

Kazeshini jumped and spun to look at whoever snuck up on him, he blinked at the sight of a silver haired sky-blue eyed young woman. Her hair appeared mussed as if she'd either just rolled out of bed or had been running very fast and had the wind ruffle it into it's current state. She cocked her head to the side and waited for his answer, after he examined her appearance and tried to place her, she seemed slightly familiar to him. He answered her absently while still trying to place where he knew her from, "nothing really. Who are you? And where did you come from?"

She giggled before she stuck out her hand for him to shake as she said, "the name is Tachikaze. As for where I came from…that's easy." She then pointed over her shoulder toward the mountains in the distance, "I was up there when I saw you. I wanted to ask you who you were so I came down, then when I saw you looking at the sky I looked up to see what you were looking at but I didn't see anything… So I decided to ask!"

She giggled again at him as he absently shook her hand while gaping at her in shock, she thought that his denseness was rather cute. He blinked up at her before he said, "you're Kensei Murguruma's Zanpakuto." As he spoke he pointed his left forefinger at her in accusation.

She clapped her hands together in delight before she remarked, "and you are Shuhei-Chan's." She then dropped down onto the ground next to him before she leaned back to stare at the sky as she leaned backwards she said happily, "I foresee that we'll be spending a lot of time like this together in the future."

He halfway wanted to know what she meant by that comment and halfway didn't, so he decided against asking her about it. He then laid back down on the ground and watched the sky overhead while listening absently to Tachikaze guessing what the clouds looked like the most. _'I could get used to this,'_ he thought to himself absently as he smiled at the tone that Tachikaze was using.

* * *

Meanwhile back outside of the inner worlds Kensei had told Shuhei to take a seat at the bar while he started to make dinner, Kensei asked, "does Yakitori and Siu Mai sound good to you?"

Shuhei blinked for a moment confused before he realized that Kensei was asking him about dinner. He answered, "yeah that sounds good. I'm not actually that picky of an eater."

Kensei snorted and said, "neither am I actually. Kushina's not that picky she just prefers to make her meals herself if she can."

As he spoke he took out the ingredients for the meal, he set the ingredients for the Yakitori to the side and started to mix the Siu Mai ingredients. He took fourteen ounces of a mixture of pork and shrimp, a medium onion (minced), one scallion finely chopped, two garlic cloves that had been minced finely, an fourth of a cup of chopped carrot, the same amount of chopped water chestnut, half a cup of mushrooms that he had chopped into bits while Shuhei watched. Shuhei watched for several moments before he commented, "you do that remarkably easily."

Kensei snorted and said, "the one good thing about having a Zanpakuto that becomes a combat knife. My teachers all told me that if I became good with all knives then Tachikaze's shikai form would be easier to master, they were right." He then added an egg slightly beaten, he then took two tablespoons of sesame oil, a dash of ground pepper and the same amount of salt and added them as well.

He then mixed the ingredients together by hand thoroughly before he set it off to the side, he then took fifty dumpling wrappers and placed a tablespoon of the mixture in the center of the wrappers. He then gathered the edges of the wrapper pleating it as he went, the top of the dumpling was open, he kept repeating the process until the mixture was gone. After he was done he began to boil water under the steamer as well as oiling the racks inside of it. He then arranged the dumplings on top of the racks about half an inch apart and steamed them for about ten to fifteen minutes.

At the same time he'd been waiting for the steamer to be prepared for him to put the dumplings in it he mixed six ounces of soy sauce, three ounces of chicken stock, the same amount of Sake, two ounces of sugar and two ounces of Mirin, a sweet rice wine, in a pot. He allowed the mixture to come to a boil for five minutes then set it aside. He then took two pound and four ounces of chicken breast and sliced them into one inch cubes. He did the same with four green onions, after that he threaded the chicken onto skewers alternating the chicken and the onions.

While he was waiting on the dumplings to finish he set the skewers on a preheated grill pan on the stove top, he turned the skewers every now and again basting them with the sauce to keep it moist. He kept doing this until all of the chicken skewers were cooked. Right after he pulled the last skewer off the grill the timer went off for the steamer, he took a peek inside and announced them done.

He placed the Yakitori and the dumplings each on their own platter and set them on the table with two sets of bone chopsticks. He set the grilling pan in the sink to soak while he poured the rest of the yakitori sauce into a pair of small bowls to dip their dumplings in. He then cocked a silver brow at Shuhei and said, "well, what are you waiting for? Get over here and eat."

Shuhei laughed but obeyed and sat down at the table across from Kensei, the two ate quietly for a few minutes before Shuhei asked, "you said your teachers recommended that you learn how to handle other knives besides combat knives. How good are you with them?" He looked up at the silver haired man curiously over the yakitori stick he was nibbling on.

Kensei finished chewing the dumpling he had been eating then said, "fairly good. I taught Kushina how to throw some knives but she always messed up unless they had a hole in the handle. She eventually went to a blacksmith and had them make over twenty knives to her specifications, only five had three blades. She called them 'Hiraishin Kunai' the other were just plain Kunai," after he said that he picked up a Yakitori skewer and began to eat it.

Shuhei hummed and asked, "were the blades about seven inches with a four inch hilt not counting the ring on the end?"

Kensei nodded as he finished off the stick, "yeah. Funny thing is she used them to stab and slice not throw, she told us that they're not really made for throwing but for close quarters combat." He snorted and said, "she never used the Hiraishin kunai at all, at least not that we could see."

Shuhei hummed and leaned back into the chair before he said, "I have." At Kensei's curious look he explained, "seen her use them, she threw one behind Kenpachi when they were sparing, five minutes later she disappeared from where Kenpachi had cornered her and reappeared next to the thrown kunai. She was just a flash of red light when she disappeared and reappeared."

As Kensei heard that he leaned back into his chair and said, "huh… I wonder how she did that…" Shuhei shrugged at that and Kensei stood up to get containers to put the leftover food in.

Shuhei watched for a few moments but began to help put away the food, as Kensei packed the skewers of yakitori left into long bowls he said, "the food was good. Where did you learn to cook?"

To his surprise Kensei began to blush before gruffly muttering, "picked it up here and there in the living world. They have schools to learn how to cook at, I went to a couple of those. Became a chef a few times to keep a roof over our heads while we were hiding from the Shinigami. I learned how to make Yakitori from Masaki though along with a few other dishes that were Kushina and Ichigo's favorites."

Kensei was surprised when Shuhei bumped him in the hip with his own and looked up at the dark haired man, Shuhei smiled and said, "don't be embarrassed, I can't cook at all. Well at least beyond simple and cheep dishes that is," he waved at the leftovers and said, "stuff like this, I can't make."

"I could teach you," Kensei offered without thinking, after it was out though he was mentally berating himself over it but once the words were out he couldn't take them back.

Shuhei blinked in shock but happily accepted with a simple, "thanks. Hopefully I won't be too bad at learning it." Shuhei looked outside at the dark sky and sighed, "well I guess I better get going or I won't be waking up in time tomorrow."

Kensei snorted and said absently as he put the leftovers in the fridge, "stay here then. I might as well cook you breakfast after a spar in the morning." He looked up to see Shuhei gaping at him with wide eyes and a blush across his face.

To Shuhei's surprise his captain turned bright red and said while looking down at the floor, "I have a guest room. So you wouldn't need to sleep on the couch, not that I recommend that anyway, according to Shinji it puts a crick in your back if you sleep on it."

Though a bit embarrassed to be sleeping at Kensei's place Shuhei accepted the invitation and the silver haired man led him down the hall. He pointed to a door on the left and said, "that's the bathroom. There's only one in the house I'm afraid, that room over there is mine." He pointed at a door further down from the bathroom, also on the left, he then pointed at the last two doors and said, "that's the linen closet and that's the guest room." The first one he pointed to was across from the bathroom while the other was across from his room.

Kensei looked him up and down before he said, "hmm, a few of my clothes should fit you for sleeping clothes tonight." He then went into his room, he came back out a few minutes later with a worn shirt and some loose pants. He handed them over to Shuhei and after he said, "goodnight, " he went back into his room and got dressed in his own nightclothes before slipping into bed.

Shuhei shrugged and went into the guestroom and changed clothes, folding his own before slipping into bed and falling asleep.


	8. Chapter Seven: Of Warnings and Arrancar

**Chapter Seven:** **Of Warnings and Arrancar**

* * *

 

Uryu looked down in bemusement at the blue haired panther hollow currently purring with his head in Uryu's lap. If you had told him when he first met Ichigo Kurosaki that he would not only consider several shinigami to be friends but also be playing pillow to a sleeping hollow he'd have called the men in white coats to take the crazy person away.

He shook his head and thought to himself, _'that's the way life goes, it gives you twists and turns that startle you with where you end up. As Kushina once told me,_ _"life is a road that no one has a map to, it takes you where it wants, even if that's not where you want to be."_ _She was right, but I'm actually happy being here, I never thought I'd be happy to come home to a hollow. But I am…'_

He chuckled as he remembered how one day he came home to find Grimmjow in the kitchen staring at the oven impatiently waiting for the timer to go off so he could take the roast out of the oven. Kushina had met him at the door and put her finger to her lips to signal that he should be quiet, he had thought Grimmjow was asleep only to find that he was just waiting for dinner to be done. She whispered in his ear before she left, "he made it himself with only a little coaching from me. I think before he died and became a hollow he was probably very good at cooking, he's a natural at it."

Nowadays he trusted Grimmjow enough to leave him home alone or he'd drop him off at the archery club he joined after he saw Uryu practicing with a wooden bow and regular arrows. Grimmjow had been fascinated by the way Uryu could fire an arrow made of wood and feathers as well as he could fire one made of spiritual energy. He had taken to Archery like a duck to water even if his calluses were more suited to holding a sword than a bow. The archery class was as fascinated by his prowess with a sword as he was with theirs with a bow, they'd on occasion ask him to demonstrate a sword technique before showing him an archery move.

He had stopped by a few times after school only to be roped in to showing the students how someone with a bow could fight a sword wielding person. He snorted and said, "only you, Grimmjow, could join an archery club and make them fascinated with swords." Grimmjow had grinned at him unrepentantly and merely beckoned him to fire an arrow at him.

Kushina had bought Grimmjow both a shirt and an apron at Christmas, the apron said, 'Only one person is allowed to kiss this cook. All others will be bitten by said cook and shot by the person allowed to kiss said cook.' He really didn't get why the hollow had blushed but shrugged his curiosity off, the panther was entitled to his privacy.

As he ran his fingers through the blue hair under his fingertips he lightly scratched Grimmjow's scalp causing the purring emanating from the hollows throat to get louder. The first time he heard Grimmjow purr he had thought he was hearing things, but when he asked Kushina about it she laughed and said, "it means he's comfortable around you. Purring is a response to happiness, contentment, nervousness, fear and pain. If he wasn't in pain or afraid nor nervous at the time then his purring could only mean that he was happy and content. What was he doing when he was purring?"

He had blinked at the influx of information but replied, "he was watching television. I think it was on the cooking channel, you may be right about him being a person who loved to cook before he died and became a hollow."

Kushina had nodded and said, "then he was most likely merely content and happy. Does he sleep on his back or on his side at night?"

Uryu looked at her oddly but answered, "on his side usually. Why?"

She waved her hand and said, "nothing, but when he starts sleeping on his back and falling asleep before you and doesn't wake up when you come in the room. That's when you'll know he's gotten to the point that he trusts you."

He raised his eyebrow at the red haired witch and asked, "what do you mean by that?"

She laughed and said, "cat's fall asleep around those they trust, if he falls to sleep before you do then that means he trusts you not to hurt him when he's vulnerable. Especially if he's sleeping on his back, when a cat exposes its stomach and chest it's making itself vulnerable to whoever it's baring that part to. My suggestion, read a book about cat behavior and body language, it would be very helpful, despite being more humanoid he still evolved from a panther hollow thus he'll retain certain habits from that life no matter how hard he tries to suppress them to keep you comfortable."

She had been right, though it took three months before Grimmjow would fall asleep before him but now it was second nature to the hollow. _Case in point,_ he thought while he looked down at the sleeping hollow, Grimmjow was curled up on his side facing Uryu's stomach with his head pillowed on Uryu's left leg and purring like a motor boat. He shook his head fondly at the sleeping panther hollow, he had let Grimmjow out of his Gigai an hour after dinner. Uryu was surprised to find that Grimmjow was unconsciously rubbing his face against his leg while asleep.

After several more minutes of petting Grimmjow, Uryu finally shook the panther's shoulder however all he got was a muttered, "five more minutes Uryu…" for his efforts.

Uryu chuckled before he leaned down and said quietly in his ear, "but Grimmjow, I'm tired and I want to sleep in my own bed not on the couch."

Grimmjow opened one eye lazily and stared up at him with the eye half closed in sleepiness before he pouted up at him. Uryu's lips twitched in amusement, he never once thought when he first heard about the hollow that he'd ever use the word cute to describe him but he did. Especially when Grimmjow stretched and rolled grumpily off the couch and Uryu's leg. He waited for Uryu to get up and followed the Quincy to the bedroom they had been sharing ever since his arrival in the small apartment.

As he followed the blue eyed teen Grimmjow thought to himself, _'well at least her advice is working. A little slow for my taste but at least it's working, he's getting used to me and my habits. I'm just glad she told me that humans tend to not appreciate having dead animals dumped in front of them as courting gifts or I'd have been in big trouble. Thankfully cooking seems to come to me easily enough…'_

With that Grimmjow stripped and climbed into bed, Uryu had averted his eyes until Grimmjow was completely under the covers. The hollow just did not like sleeping in clothes at all and unfortunately for Uryu the hollow was ripped with muscles that made him want to stare.

Uryu changed into his nightclothes and slipped between the sheets he had sewed himself, Grimmjow when he first saw them commented, "these are kind of cool. Where did you get them?"

When Grimmjow found out he made them himself he had merely blinked and said, "good for you," he had then stripped and climbed between the sheets. That had been nearly the end of Uryu because he about had a heart attack when the hollow had stripped off all his clothes. In the end Uryu had ended up letting him sleep without clothes so long as he put some on right after getting up and taking a shower.

* * *

Meanwhile on the Hogwarts express, they had just reached Hogsmeade station and the students were disembarking the train. Kushina, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna and Neville all grabbed the same carriage. Kushina had received a letter from the headmaster via Fawkes shortly before the train pulled into the station so she read it in the carriage. She snorted after she read it and said, "you guys will have to continue to the Great Hall without me, the Headmaster wants to see me in his office to discuss something."

Hermione frowned and asked, "it's not bad is it?"

Kushina shook her head and said, "no, just a matter that he wants to talk about right away."

After the students arrived at the castle Kushina continued up the stairs while the rest of them went into the Great Hall to wait for the sorting. She walked up the stairs until she reached the second floor, she stopped in front of the gargoyle and said, "Pocky." It leapt aside to allow her up, she went up the staircase to his office door where she knocked.

She heard as the Headmaster said, "come in."

She opened the door and saw that the headmaster was alone, he was sitting behind his desk signing papers he beamed at her before he said, "ah Kushina there you are. I take it the students have arrived for the feast and sorting. Then I shall not keep us long, you wrote to me and said that you have the portraits of the four founders, correct?"

She nodded bemusedly before she said, "yes Headmaster. Right now they're in Jackal's Lairs attic but I can have Winky bring them to the school."

He nodded and asked, "would it be alright if you had her do that? Would you be willing to allow them to be hung in the school?"

She nodded again and said, "of course Headmaster. I doubt that the founders would mind being hung in the school they built together. But where do you want to hang them?"

His blue eyes twinkled and he said, "I was thinking in the Great Hall. On the wall with the two windows, they of course would be hung in front of their house tables."

Kushina hummed for a few moments in thought before she said, "I also have a portrait of Hogwarts shortly after it was built, what if we hung that behind the staff table? Then the four founders could move there and talk with the teachers if they wanted."

Albus beamed at her and said, "a terrific idea! Shall we implement it at once?"

She laughed before she replied and said, "sure. WINKY!"

Winky popped in the room and bowed to Kushina, "you called Mistress. What does Mistress wish of Winky?"

Kushina knelt down and looked her in the eye as she asked, "can you bring me the five portraits that I brought home from Gringotts?"

Winky beamed up at her and said, "of course Mistress! Winky be doing that right away!" She popped away and popped back in just four minutes between the time she left and when she came back. She blinked up at her and said, "oh, Mistress. Mistress 'Koto asked that I tell you that 'Tachi will be stopping by during Christmas!"

Kushina hummed and said with a smile, "good. Tell her that I'll stop by during Christmas, I want to meet Itachi's friend."

Winky nodded rapidly before she said, "of course Mistress! Winky be telling Mistress 'Koto when she sees her next!" With that Winky disappeared with a small pop.

Albus had Kushina place one of the paintings on the desk and studied it before he sighed sadly, "I'm afraid I don't know how to activate these my dear. We may not be able to put the up and have them talk to the students after all…"

To his surprise she giggled and said, "don't worry Headmaster I can activate them. Do you see these symbols?" She asked as she pointed at the four corners of the portrait and he nodded, "these are blood activated seals. If I were to swipe my blood along these seals they'll deactivate, I tested them when I got them home, I activated Salazar's portrait he's the one who told me how to reactivate the seals. Only my blood or the blood of my Dad can activate or deactivate the seals that cause them to be stationary."

Albus beamed in happiness at her and said, "I'll have the house elves bring them down during my announcement and place them on the walls with a white cloth hiding them. After my announcements I'll have you reactivate them as well as the Hogwarts painting."

She nodded and said, "I'd be happy to, I'll summon Winky and have her bring them down. However the feast cannot begin until you are there so you better get going." With that she shooed him out of his office and called Winky back to the office to explain what she and the headmaster wanted done. Winky nodded and sent Kushina on her way to the feast. Kushina slipped into the great hall and saw Yazu sitting at the Slytherin table sitting next to Astoria and Karin was at the Gryffindor table sitting with Ron and Hermione.

She slipped into the space between Neville and Ginny across from Karin, she leaned across the table and whispered, "I had the feeling you'd end up here."

The dark haired girl looked at her skeptically and asked, "what about Yazu's house? Are you surprised it put her there?"

Kushina shook her head and said, "nope. Yazu can be ruthless with her rules and she's ambitious in the fact that she wants everyone to get along even if she has to force them to."

After the meal the Headmaster stood up and said, "as usual I have some announcements to make. Healer Isshin Kurosaki has volunteered to help Madam Pomfrey learn some techniques that he knows for the next two years or how ever long he wishes to stay with us. And I'm sure our second through seventh years will no doubt recognize little Yachiru and Kenpachi," as he introduced Isshin he gestured to the man who was sitting next to James, the Staff table had been enlarged for the year to be double it's usual length. Most of the guests had indicated that they would rotate who would eat with the students and who would eat with the staff. Kenpachi was sitting on Hermione's right side while Karin was on her left, Yachiru was sitting next to Kenpachi on his right.

He then gestures to the man sitting next to Minerva and said, "Chojiro Sasakibe is currently researching the Dementor phenomenon. You might be seeing him the most in the Library please try not to disturb him," he then gestured to the brown haired man sitting next to a rather spacey Luna. He seemed rather bemused by whatever it was she was saying, "Sanji Komamura is here to keep an eye on things as a favor to myself."

He then gestures to the Slytherin table where beside Blaise, Orihime was listening to Tsubaki who was muttering something while staring at one of the older Slytherins. "Miss Inoue has agreed to help out with both our DADA Class and the Shinigami Arts Class. Miss Kuchiki has also volunteered," with that he waved his hand over to the Gryffindor table where Rukia was sitting on Ron's right and Karin was on his left. He then gestured at the man seated next to Ginny, "Tetsuzaemon Iba has also volunteered to do patrols and help out with both classes as well."

Tetsuzaemon waved at the gaping students before turning back to Ginny and whispering something in her ear that made her giggle. All the Gryffindors except the first years pointedly ignored the sound of her giggling because as far as they were concerned it didn't happen.

Albus cleared his throat and said gravely, "our other three guests are here due to a decision they made. They have been put under the care of some of the people staying here, Miss Inoue is currently responsible for Tia Halibel as well as Nelliel Tu Odelshwanck as her handler is currently investigating the British wizarding world but he will be staying at Hogwarts once the last tour is over which should be around next week. Coyote Starrk and Lilynette Gingerbuck are underneath Isshin Kurosaki's supervision so do not be too surprised to find them elsewhere instead of in the Infirmary." The students gave small laughs at that and the green haired girl looked at them curiously.

"My final announcement is actually a very exciting one for myself and more than likely all of you," the headmaster stated while his blue eyes twinkled madly. "Just last month five paintings were discovered and their owner has agreed to allow them to be placed at Hogwarts. So without further adieu, Miss Potter-Lupin if you would please…" he trailed off meaningfully.

Kushina stood up and clapped her hands, with a flash of light five paintings appeared on the walls, one appeared directly behind the Staff table it was of Hogwarts. On the opposite end of the hall directly in front of each house table was a portrait, two paintings had two people in them while the other two only had a single occupant. All five paintings were frozen in place like a muggle photograph. Kushina walked up to the one behind the staff table and reached up with her hand before she cut it shallowly with a knife. She wiped her bloody hand against all four corners of the painting before muttering in Parseltongue, to their surprise the painting came to life.

Kushina looked at the headmaster and said, "Belinda will have to come in here and update the memories of her portrait but that can wait." She then walked over to the painting closest to the door and activated it, she pressed her finger to her lips to signify silence before moving on to the others. When she had finally activated the last portrait which was of a red haired man she smiled and said, "greetings, my name is Kushina Ruri Potter-Lupin and welcome back to Hogwarts."

The raven haired woman smiled happily and said, "we're back at Hogwarts? That's good news, I was afraid we'd never be found thanks to that bizarre test that Godric thought up."

With that she glared at the red haired man who huffed and said heatedly, "obviously it wasn't too hard since someone of my kin solved it."

Kushina laughed and said while she waved her right hand, "I'll take that as a compliment Lord Gryffindor, Lady Ravenclaw."

Godric looked down at the slip of a girl and said, "you solved my puzzles?" When she nodded, he beamed down at her and said, "congratulation then, Lady Gryffindor!"

Kushina turned to the last two who were watching the other two in bemusement before she corrected Godric, "that's Lady Gryffindor-Slytherin. I'm also Lord Slytherin's heir," she held up the serpent ring on her left thumb as proof.

To the surprise of the Slytherin's, their founder smiled and said, "thy resemble my great-granddaughter. I knew as soon as I saw thee that thy was my heir, even before I heard you speak."

Kushina gave him a quick curtsy before she turned back to the students, "the founders of course may come and go as they wish. I'm sure they'd be delighted to answer any questions you might have about your house."

All four portraits nodded and Godric said, "verily much so."

Albus cleared his throat and said, "now that the introductions are out of the way. I believe it's time for all good children to be going to bed. You've had a long day after all, so off you trot."

With that the prefects started gathering the first years to lead them to the common rooms Kushina stayed behind and said to the portraits, "I believe you will be having a lot of questions to ask in return to the students."

The four heads of house introduce themselves to the portraits, Salazar raised an eyebrow at the Head of his House, especially when Sirius came in the room with a crying Cassiopeia and said, "she wanted her daddy."

Godric had beamed and said, "thy have been blessed with a child! That is truly great news to be had."

Kushina then introduced her parents, "this is my Dad, James Potter and my Papa, Remus Lupin."

Helga glanced at the pair and asked gently, "which one of thee carried the lass?"

James put his hand up and said, "I did."

"Child birth is not easy… but it is well worth it," she said wistfully.

James nodded in agreement and to the surprise of the teachers as well as the lagging students, Salazar too nodded in agreement before he said, "indeed. I considered my son well worth the effort it took."

Godric frowned heavily and made his way to Salazar's portrait, when he got there he enfolded the dark haired man in an embrace and said, "I'm sorry to have left you alone, my Serpent."

Salazar snorted and said, "you didn't know. By the Muggles Hell, I didn't know until after you had been dead for a month. If it weren't for our child and the promise I made to you I think I would have found every battle being fought and thrown myself into it until I failed to come out alive."

Godric growled in anger and said, "well, I'm glad I made you make that promise to me then. I certainly didn't want you to follow me into the afterlife, I honestly didn't realize that the idiot had been behind me." He groaned and burrowed his face into the crook of Salazar's shoulder, whereupon Salazar ran his fingers through his red hair soothingly, and Godric said, "which was stupid of me, I know…" He then looked down at her and said, "thank thee for waking us up child."

The students goggled at the fact that Godric was the father of Slytherin's child, the only ones who weren't surprised at the information was the other four founders, James, Kushina, and Remus. Sirius, Severus and Lily all turned wide eyes to the Potters and said in chorus, "you knew!"

Kushina raised one red eyebrow at them and said sardonically, "duh. I am the heir of Gryffindor and Slytherin by direct blood relation, you know." She rolled her eyes and muttered, "idiots, in order to be the heir of Slytherin you have to be the heir of Gryffindor."

"Speaking of the heir ship, I do believe you have a certain sword in my office, Kushina," Albus said lightly.

Kushina groaned and said, "I've wielded that gaudy thing once that's all I'm willing to wield it. Keep it in your office Headmaster if nothing else the students who get taken to see you can gape at it when you tell them that someone killed a Basilisk with the thing."

Salazar raised his head and said, "so you killed the basilisk in the chamber?" When she nodded the Slytherins still in the room expected him to get angry but instead he beamed, "good, that thing was an abomination of nature. The only reason I didn't kill it myself was because I was far too busy to."

"And also because Helga and I forbade that you go near it until your child was fully grown." Rowena interjected.

"Of course by the time that your son was full grown, you had completely put the idea of killing it out of your mind. Especially since you had a grandson on the way, then your grandson got killed in that duel and you had to care for your great-granddaughter." Helga added quietly from beside her husband.

Salazar put up a finger and commented, "point taken." He then looked at Godric and said, "my dear Lion, you can let go of me, I'm not going to go anywhere you know."

The red headed man snorted before he said, "yeah right. I let go of you and off you'll go on an adventure, you cannot sit still for any reason. It took outright bribery just to get you to sit still for this painting."

Salazar smirked smugly before he said in a self satisfied tone, "you enjoyed giving me the bribe so don't act like it cost you all that much to have to do it."

Godric stood up to his full height before he stared down at him and said with a scowl on his face, "you sneaky snake. You were squirming on purpose!"

Salazar grinned up at the raging man before giving him a soft kiss and said while darting away, "guilty as charged!"

The stunned man stared after Salazar before he growled in frustration and chased after him shouting, "Salazar get back here!"

Rowena and Helga both laughed before Rowena said, "that's Salazar for you alright. Although he really can't sit still…"

Remus snorted softly before he glanced at his daughter out of the corner of his eye and said, "now I wonder just who that little scene reminds me of…"

Kushina blinked up at her Papa and said, "I have no idea who you are talking about, Papa." She then gave him a kiss on the cheek and said, "night Papa. I'll see you in the morning!" She gave the two female founders a curtsy and said, "goodnight milady, I shall see thee on the morrow." With that she walked away to go upstairs to her house and get the younger years settled in, she knew that Ron and Hermione would introduce Minato to the first years. The password was still the same for both herself and for rest of the house, after all it was easy to remember and if it didn't change they would only have to remember two different passwords all the time.

* * *

While Kushina and the Professors were talking to the four founders, the prefects were leading their charges to their common rooms and dorms. Ron and Hermione stopped outside of the Fat Lady's portrait, they had found out from Sirius, Remus and James that her name was Melina, so they said, "good evening Lady Melina!"

She laughed and said, "good evening little ones. Are these the new first years?"

The pair looked at one another before they chorused, "yes Milady." Ron then turned to the younger years and said, "this is Lady Melina she's the guardian portrait of Gryffindor House. Before she'll open the door you must have the password," he then turned to Hermione and asked, "what is the password this time?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned to the students before she said, "the password is Oleander."

With that the fat lady opened the door and allowed the students in, Hermione stopped in front of Minato's portrait, she gestured to him and said, "this is Minato. He is the guardian portrait of the Student Head of Houses quarters, the student Head of House will be available if something happens and the Head of House isn't around to deal with it. Her name is Kushina, she's a fair but strict head much like Professor McGonagall, however when she gets bored duck down and batten the hatches. She tends to play pranks when bored, I'm afraid she takes after both her parents in that respect. Her Dad was Head Boy and her Papa was a Prefect."

One of the First years Mark Evans raised his hand and Hermione asked, "yes…you have a question?"

He scuffed his foot against the floor and said, "how does she have two dads?"

Hermione blinked then said gently, "you're muggleborn aren't you?" When he nodded she smiled at him before she said, "so am I. When I found out she had two dads I was a bit confused too." She paced and said, "when a pair of men are soul mates their magic allows one of them to carry a child. Do you understand now?"

Some of the younger years blanched and asked, "does that mean we could get pregnant?"

Hermione shook her head and said, "not unless you are deeply in love with the other parent. Magic prevents a pregnancy in males from occurring if there is no love involved. So no, you don't need to worry about becoming pregnant, that is unless you fall in love with a male and wish to carry a child."

Many of the males in the house breathed a sigh of relief, Hermione then turned back to the first years and said, "this staircase leads to the boys dorms and this one leads to the girls dorms. Boys cannot go up the girls dorm stairs, they're spelled to not allow you up, understood?"

The first years nodded and Karin asked, "what time is curfew? And will someone lead us to the great hall for breakfast?"

Kushina came into the common room when Karin asked her questions so she answered them, "curfew is at eight o'clock for years one through four, years five through seven have a nine o'clock curfew. Only prefects are allowed out of the dorms until ten o'clock to check for stragglers and only I am allowed out at all times."

She then reached in her robe pocket and pulled out something, she looked at it for a few minutes before she said, "matter of fact. It's bed time for all first years," she then turned to the older years and said, "you of course can stay up but remember, the first day of school is tomorrow. And none of our teachers will take the excuse of 'I stayed up too late and slept in.' And yes someone will lead you to the Great Hall for the first few weeks after that you're expected to know the way."

All of the older years nodded and said, "okay Kushina."

She nodded and after making sure the first years were tucked into their beds went into her own room. She looked around and noticed that Winky must have come in here after delivering the portraits to the Great Hall because her trunk had been unpacked. She snorted and walked into her bathroom to take a bath before getting ready for bed.

* * *

After several minutes of talking with Rowena and Helga, James pulled Remus away and said playfully, "it's a good thing that they are married and dead, or I'd be worried."

Remus frowned and said, "you're my mate. I just wanted to know what it was like back then for werewolves…"

James shook his head and said, "I know. But the two of them will still be there in the morning so lets go to our room, it's been a long day after all."

The pair walked up the stairs to the seventh floor and their quarters, Remus stopped in front of the Wolf and Stag guardian portrait and said, "Mors Amicus in Uiam Uitae." As they walked into their living room Remus said, "you know you've never told me what that saying means anyway."

James laughed as he unbuttoned his shirt after shrugging off his robes, "it means, 'let death be a friend on the road of life.' I have no clue which family it comes from though, one of the many that joined with the Potter family."

Remus snorted after taking off his shirt and unbuckling his belt, "it's certainly an interesting one." He looked up to see James stripping completely before he headed into the bathroom, he stopped undressing to stare at his mate. He let his eyes roam over his mates shifting muscles and after a few minutes of ogling his mate he noticed that James had paused in undressing to stare at him in amusement.

He sheepishly met the laughing hazel eyes of his mate and James said in a husky tone while walking to the bathroom, "I'm going to take a shower…Care to join me?" Remus swallowed thickly then stripped and all but ran to join him in the bathroom.

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Two hours later both men came out of the bathroom toweling off, James put on a pair of boxers that had the saying on it, ' **The quality of a relationship is more important then the gender.** ' Remus shook his head at his mates sense of humor which unfortunately their daughter had somehow inherited, he then pulled on a pair of plain yellow-gold boxers and climbed into bed. James joined him a few minutes later and Remus broached a subject that James had been ignoring for over three weeks. "I still think you need to see Madam Pomfrey about your nausea. You shouldn't be throwing up every morning for almost a month."

James looked at Remus while he climbed into bed and sighed before he said, "will you stop bugging me about it if I go?" Remus thought for a few minutes before he nodded, James sighed again but he said, "alright then. I'll set up an appointment with Madam Pomfrey for a full checkup after dinner tomorrow, okay?"

Remus sighed in relief and said as he reached out to pull James against him, "okay. I'm just worried about you…" James tucked his head into the crook of Remus' neck and breathed in the scent of pine, fresh grass and the same smell the air got after lightning had struck nearby.

James muttered, "and what does Moony think of my symptoms?"

Remus blinked before turning his thoughts inward and carefully poked the wolf inside him, it grumbled but woke slightly long enough to emote ' _what is it?'_ He rolled his eyes at how grumpy the wolf got so soon after the full moon, he asked mentally, _**'what do you make of James' symptoms?'**_ The wolf snorted and muttered, ' _mate will be fine. Healer will tell you the same, only time will fix the symptoms, but mate will be fine even without seeing Healer.'_

Remus raised his left eyebrow in shock but repeated the diagnosis to James, who muttered, "that's what I thought. Remus, it's probably just a stomach virus, but if it'll make you feel better I'll go see her, alright?"

Remus nodded and murmured quietly, "thank you. It does make me feel better, I lost you once James, I don't want to lose you again."

James looked down at the dozing werewolf before he whispered in his ear, "you'll never lose me without a fight. Anyone or anything that tries to take you from me or me from you will be having a hell of a time trying."

* * *

As Isane settled into her bed she remembered her tour at Saint Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. She laughed lightly at the shocked looks on the healers faces as she had healed a few cases they had thought to be completely incurable with a simple application of Medical Kido.

As Percy had led her to the lifts he asked, "would you like to go to Saint Mungos by floo or would you like to go the regular way?"

As they boarded the lift she said, "I think I'd like to go the regular way for now. Maybe another time we can go by floo…"

She had trailed off hopeful that he'd agree with her, to her delight he had nodded and said, "alright by the regular route it is."

He took her up to the atrium and then stepped into the lift that led to the visitors entrance. After they had rode the lift up he led her to the underground and they took it to the stop just before Saint Mungos. He led her through the crowd of back to school shoppers lining the streets keeping one hand on hers at all times in order to keep from being separated. She asked, "where is the hospital?"

"Not far from here," he replied over his shoulder as they stepped out into the balmy summer air. He pulled her to up beside to him and led her along, he continued with, "it wasn't easy to find a good location for it. Nowhere near Diagon Alley was big enough and we couldn't have the hospital underground, it wouldn't be healthy. In the end the ministry managed to get a hold of a building up here. Theory was that sick wizards could come and go, blending in with the crowd."

A moment later he said, "ah, here we go." She looked up at the large old fashioned, red-brick department store called Purge and Dowse Ltd. The place had a rather shabby, miserable air about it even for the end of summer; the window displays consisted of a few chipped dummies with their wigs askew, standing at random and modeling fashions at least ten years out of date. Of course Isane only knew what was in fashion due to having to be around Masumoto during the Shinigami Women's Association meetings. Large signs on all the dusty doors read: 'Closed for Refurbishment.' She distinctly heard a woman laden with plastic shopping bags mention to her friend as she passed the pair, "it's never open, that place…"

"Right," Percy said while beckoning her to follow him to a window displaying nothing but a particularly ugly female dummy. It's false eyelashes were hanging off and ti was modeling a green nylon pinafore dress. He looked at her with a sparkle of mischief in his blue eyes before he asked quietly, "ready?"

She frowned but nodded and he pulled her next to him as he stepped forward and leaned close to the glass before he said while looking up at the very ugly dummy, "hello, Percy Weasley. I'm here to give Isane Kotetsu a tour of Saint Mungos."

Isane blinked at bit at the absurd thought that it was odd that Percy was expecting the dummy to hear him talking so quietly through a sheet of glass, what with the buses rumbling by behind them and all the racket from the shoppers filling the street. Then she reminded herself that dummies couldn't hear anyway, the next second her mouth opened in shock as the dummy gave a tiny nod and beckoned with it's jointed finger. Percy seized her by the elbow and lead her through the glass. Together they stepped through what felt like a sheet of cool water, emerging on the other side of it quite warm and dry.

Isane looked around and noticed that there was no sign of the ugly dummy nor the place she had stood. They were in what appeared to be a very crowded reception area where rows of witches and wizards sat upon rickety wooden chairs. Some were looking perfectly normal and were perusing out-of-date copies of a magazine called Witches Weekly. While others were sporting gruesome disfigurements such as elephant trunks or extra hands sticking out of their chests.

She hummed quietly before she commented, "this looks like the research and development department was when Mayuri Kurotsuchi ran it." At that comment Percy gave her an odd look and resolved to ask Kushina about it later.

He then led her over to the desk marked Enquiries, the wall behind a blond witch was covered with notices and posters saying things like: **A CLEAN CAULDRON KEEPS POTIONS FROM BECOMING POISONS** and **ANTIDOTES ARE ANTI-DON'T UNLESS APPROVED BY A QUALIFIED HEALER.** There was also a large portrait of a witch with long silver ringlets which was labeled:

Dilys Derwent

Saint Mungo's Healer 1722-1741

Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry 1741-1768

She was surveying the pair with amusement on her face and in her eyes, however Isane was reading the floor guide:

**ARTEFACT ACCIDENTS**... Ground floor

Cauldron explosion, wand backfiring, broom crashes, etc.

**CREATURE-INDUCED INJURIES**... First floor

Bites, stings, burns, embedded spines, etc.

**MAGICAL BUGS**... Second floor

Contagious maladies, e.g. dragon pox, vanishing sickness, scrofungulus, etc.

**POTION AND PLANT POISONING**... Third floor

Rashes, regurgitation, uncontrollable giggling, etc.

**SPELL DAMAGE**... Fourth floor

Unliftable jinxes, hexes, incorrectly applied charms, etc.

**VISITORS' TEAROOM / HOSPITAL SHOP**... Fifth floor

**IF YOU ARE UNSURE WHERE TO GO, INCAPABLE OF NORMAL SPEECH OR UNABLE TO REMEMBER WHY YOU ARE HERE, OUR WELCOMEWITCH WILL BE PLEASED TO HELP.**

Percy looked over at her before asking conspiratorially, "so where would you like to start?" She smiled slowly as she looked the paper over before she turned to him to answer.

* * *

While James and Remus went to their rooms Lily led Coyote and Lilynette to their rooms the went down the stairs to the dungeons then further down to the second floor of the dungeons. She then led them down a spiral staircase to the third floor, Coyote asked, "is there a reason that we're going so deep?"

She looked over her shoulder at the yawning man and girl, she smiled and said, "you requested to be roomed near me, Coyote. My room is on the third level of the dungeon." She then stepped off of the spiral staircase and stopped in front of a pair of doors, pointed at the one on the left and said, "that's the door to my rooms." She then waved at the right hand door and said, "that's the door to yours. What do you want the password to be?"

Coyote appeared to think for a few minutes before he murmured, "kick about, Los Lobos." Lilynette gave him an amused stare, she snorted at the thought of using their resurreccion as their password to their quarters.

Lily gave him an odd look but cast the spell to change the password on the quarters and said, "place your hand on the doorknob and say the password. If the spell worked the door should unlock and let you in."

Coyote shrugged but did as the red haired witch commanded, he placed his hand on the doorknob and said quietly, "kick about, Los Lobos." With a soft click the door unlocked and it swung open, Lily gestured for both of them to enter.

As they walked in Lily asked, "what does Los Lobos mean?" she glanced at the dark haired man curiously, he gave a huff of laughter before he smiled at her.

"Los Lobos is Spanish for The Wolves or Japanese for Wolf Pack. It happens to be mine and Lilynette's Resurreccion, think of it as equivalent to a Shinigami's Shikai." As he spoke he walked further into the living area. To the right of the entrance was a reading or breakfast nook, it had a pair of chairs and a table in it. Straight ahead from the entrance was a hallway.

He saw two doors down it, Lilynette had opened the first one and said, "I want this one!" He waved his hand at her to let her know he heard her and that she could have it. Lily laughed lightly at that, he glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow as if to ask, 'what's so funny?'

She shook her head and said, "most people don't let themselves get bossed around by their children."

He snorted and said, "she's not my child. She's a part of me and that will never change, if I lost her I'd only be half of myself."

Lily looked at him with curiosity in her emerald eyes and she asked carefully, "what do you mean by that?"

He sighed and after sitting down said, "you know that Arrancar are the highest evolved form of a Hollow right?"

She nodded remembering the lecture that Kushina had given everyone about hollows. Coyote continued, "when I was still a Adjuchas, I would kill my fellow hollows simply by being around them… I grew lonely and I envied the hollows that were weak enough that they had to band together or die."

He tilted his head and looked at her with sad blue-grey eyes before he commented, "I thought that if being weak meant not being lonely, then I would make myself weak, I ripped my soul into two. Lilynette is half of what I used to be and I am the other half, we're not sure which one of us resembles what we used to be if either of us do. But after that I wasn't alone, Lilynette couldn't be killed by my power since we shared it. For once I wasn't lonely, if I lost her… I don't know what I'd do…"

Lily smiled at him before placing her left hand on his right shoulder while putting her right hand under his chin to raise his eyes to look at her and said reassuringly, "you're not going to lose her. Kushina wouldn't let that happen, and neither would I."

He blinked up at her in puzzlement by that statement and watched as she walked over to the mirror near the only other door in the living area. She studied it carefully before she said, "you know. I think this mirror is in the exact same place as the one in mine, it shares the same wall anyway." She looked over her shoulder at him and shrugged, "kind of weird I suppose but I wonder…"

Eventually she shook her head and walked away from the mirror that stretched from the floor to seven feet above it. She opened the door near the mirror and blinked a bit before she laughed and said, "I guess the house elves decided to give you and Lilynette something to keep the pair of you distracted."

He walked over and looked into the room from over her shoulder to find a room filled with games and toys. He snorted softly before he said, "I suppose… At least me and Lilynette won't get too bored here."

She looked over her shoulder into his eyes and said absently, "well if you get too bored just come over to my room with a few games. I'll gladly play a few with you two," all the while thinking to herself, ' _Lily, keep yourself together and don't go drowning in his eyes even if they are the most beautiful shade of blue you've ever seen…'_

Unknown to Lily, Coyote was having the same problem with her green eyes as he barely heard her suggestion. He raised his eyebrow at her and pointed out, "but I don't know the password to your rooms."

She snorted and said, "the password is ' **gravity is a myth: the earth sucks.** '"

He blinked at the odd password and Lilynette commented, "interesting password. Why did you use it?"

Lily smirked and said, "because beside my niece almost no one in the school would even think to guess it."

After she said goodnight to the pair she left and went into her own rooms, she quickly got ready for bed then climbed in it. While in the other room Coyote had gotten Lilynette ready for bed, she had gotten in the habit of having Coyote double check that she'd brushed her teeth and having him tuck her into bed at night. After they had gone through their nightly routine he kissed her forehead and whispered, "goodnight my Lilynette."

He heard as she murmured, "goodnight Coyote, I'll see you in the morning." He then closed her door behind him and walked to his own room. He looked at the bed wistfully before turning to the bathroom and taking a shower. He dried off and completely ignoring propriety flopped face first on the bed, he drifted off to sleep a few minutes later barely managing to crawl under the covers before he completely slipped into blissful slumber.


	9. Chapter Eight: Of Early Mornings and Memories

**Chapter Eight:** **Of Early Mornings and Memories**

* * *

 

The next morning Lilynette was in Coyote's room scowling down at him and she said, "get up you, lazy bastard. You can't lie around all day here you know!"

He looked up at her sleepily and said while tugging her down into bed with him to curl around her protectively, "ah. But you see I can. We don't really have anywhere to be anymore Lilynette, besides…" he yawned, "it's only six in the morning. Sleep for a little while more."

She scowled at him but curled up against his chest and muttered, "fine. But we're getting out of bed in at least an hour and a half." He merely muttered an agreeable sound into his pillow before falling back asleep.

* * *

Kushina looked around her in bemusement before she shook her head and thought to herself, ' _one of these dreams again. Why am I dreaming about things long past?'_ She was standing in front of a small house with a large enclosed yard, she walked forward and a few minutes after she had flared her chakra she felt an answering flare. She hopped over the wall into the yard and found a bunch of wolves lying around in the sun dozing, she walked over to the white haired man sitting on the back porch and asked, "where's Kakashi?"

"Asleep," Sakumo said quietly while looking down at his cup of tea.

She put her hand on his shoulder and murmured, "I'm sorry Sakumo. I know that you didn't love each other but you did like one another."

He glanced up at her sadly and said, "we were planning on dissolving the marriage after Kakashi reached Chuunin but it looks like that won't happen. I'll abide by her last wishes…"

Kushina sat down beside him and asked, "what were her last wishes?"

Sakumo finished his cup of tea before he said, "cremation, then interment in either the Hatake plot or in her family's plot. Depending upon whether or not we were still married at the time of her death. She'll be buried in the Hatake plot," he played with the tea cup as he spoke.

Kushina nodded and said, "alright… Do you need me to arrange anything?"

Sakumo shook his head and said, "no. No I don't need help arranging anything…" he trailed off before he mentioned, "Kakashi is enrolled in the Academy."

She frowned and said, "but he's so young... Are you sure that's wise?"

He sighed and said, "no, but his mother wanted it, she noticed how good he is at picking things up and demanded that he be allowed to enter the academy even with how young he is."

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With a flash of light that blinded her for a moment the scene before her dissolved, when she opened her eyes and blinked a bit, she was standing in front of the gates of Konoha she then muttered to herself, "now when am I in these darn memories…" She shrugged before she walked into the village waving a cheerful hello at the gate guards.

She was covertly glancing around trying to figure out which year she was in, she sighed in relief it as either before or after the Third Shinobi World War. Her feet led her to the Hokage tower where she confirmed it was before the war, Sarutobi was still the Hokage and as she passed the mission desk to give her report to the Hokage she noticed Minato and six year old Kakashi getting a mission. She waved to the both of them before heading up the stairs, once she reached the correct floor she knocked on the door. She then heard a 'come it,' as she walked in she noticed the Hokage's guards and nodded at them.

After she had given her report the Hokage asked, "would you be willing to take a mission to Kumo as an escort?"

She cocked her head to the side and asked, "would I have a partner or a team for the duration of the mission?"

"A partner, the mission shouldn't be too difficult." The Hokage said quietly. "you will not be able to chose your partner for the mission," he added quickly.

She frowned and asked, "then who am I being partnered with for the mission?"

He riffled through the stacks of paperwork in front of him before picking up a single sheet of paper and said, "Sakumo Hatake. The medics just released him back to full active duty. Would you be willing to take him as your partner?"

She nodded but added, "only if he wants to go. I'm not about to have anyone order him to go along if he doesn't want to go."

The Hokage chuckled quietly before he said while handing a hawk a letter, "you always did have a strange sense of honor, Kushina. You will prank the living hell out of anyone that annoys you but you refuse to order someone you don't know that well to work with on a mission with you."

Five minutes after the hawk left a Shinobi landed on the windowsill, Kushina nodded a hello to Sakumo. She stood quietly in the center of the room while the Hokage explained the mission to him, he frowned in thought for a moment before he said, "sure. I'll go with Kushina, she's pretty easy to work with from what I've heard. All of the Shinobi I've spoken to about her said she doesn't take too many risks unless absolutely needed."

Kushina nodded and said, "alright. Get your gear then Sakumo, I've got to go replenish my supplies from my last mission. I'll meet you at the front gate in two hours." He nodded to her before she left through the other window and raced across the rooftops to her apartment while Sakumo headed back to his house.

She entered through the window and disabled her traps before she began to fill her weapon pouches with more Kunai, Shurikin and explosive tags. She then sealed several scrolls with extra rations and weapons before she sealed the scrolls into the seals she had stitched into her clothing including one on the back of her forehead protector. She knew that she wouldn't be losing that anytime soon. She then placed her forehead protector back on her head, the red cloth hidden slightly among her red hair, if it weren't for the metal plate you wouldn't have even noticed it.

She held her hand indecisively over the scroll containing her Chakra swords, finally she snatched it up and unsealed the swords. She strapped them across her back in an X formation, she quickly check both the fit of the harness as well as how well she could draw the swords before she gave a sharp nod of satisfaction. Her swords wouldn't impede her flexibility at all and she could draw them very quickly if she needed to.

She then double checked to make sure she had everything she'd need for a several week long trek to Kumogakure, she knew that they would be meeting an escort from Kumo at the border of the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Frost. After that she reset her traps and left her apartment via the body flicker technique, she landed just short of the gates of Konoha. She leaned back against a building to wait for her partner for this mission to arrive as well as waiting for their client to show up.

Five minutes after she arrived at the gate so did Sakumo, he raised an eyebrow at seeing only her vest and weapon pouches before he asked, "where is your pack at?"

She smirked at him and said, "here," she held up a scroll that she retrieved from the weapon pouch at the small of her back. He blinked a bit in puzzlement before it dawned on him that she sealed the contents that would normally go into a pack in a scroll. "I can put your pack in a scroll if you want," she offered.

He accepted and watched as she quickly transferred the contents of his pack into a single scroll, she even sealed the pack into it, she explained as she sealed each type of item away. "The reason I took it all out of the pack is because there is no point in pulling out the entire pack for a single item."

Three minutes after she sealed his pack into the scroll the merchants they were to escort arrived at the gates and the two ninja began to escort the small caravan.

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During the journey through the Land of Hot Water, the caravan was attacked by bandits and one of the bandits attempted to hold the five year old daughter of the head of the caravan hostage. However, Sakumo used the body replacement technique to have a log take her place and she then appeared near her father facing him. Her father watched with wide eyes as the man who had just saved his daughter grabbed her captor and disappear from sight, when he cam back he was holding a bloody kunai.

Kushina on the other hand had pulled out her swords and was dancing between the attacking bandits, she had also summoned shadow clones to help. This technique was confusing both the attacking bandits and the watching merchants. Within five minutes of the attack all of the bandits were either dead or incapacitated completely. Kushina sheathed her swords and dismissed her clones before she remarked, "that was fun. How about we don't do that again for a while though?"

Sakumo snorted and murmured, "agreed."

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Five days after the bandit attack, the caravan was nearing the point where the Kumo Nin would take over guarding the caravan and hand over another caravan that Sakumo and Kushina would escort back to Konoha. The Head of the caravan had approached Sakumo the day before and handed him a long box, Sakumo had looked down at it and asked, "what is this?"

"A gift, for saving my daughter," he said quietly.

Sakumo blinked in confusion before he said, "that is part of my job. I'm to escort you safely to the Kumo escort, that includes your daughter."

The man smiled at him and said, "I know. But you made sure to rescue her quickly and then you took the man away before killing him, sparing my daughter of seeing her captor die. This is a thank you for that, please accept it, I've never been able to find a buyer for it anyway, you'd actually be doing me a favor by taking it."

Sakumo looked down at the long narrow box and bowed to the man before he said, "thank you for the gift."

When Kushina heard about the whole scene she had laughed, she had been away with the women of the caravan gathering water along with some wild grown vegetables for a stew tonight. She urged him to open the box, when he did he found an exquisite Tanto inside, he immediately was about to go hand it back when Kushina said, "you've already accepted it. If you try to return it to him it would be seen as a great insult to his family."

He halted in place and stared down at the blade before he said, "but it's a Chakra channeling blade."

Kushina shrugged and said, "so are these," she pointed to the two blades strapped across her back. "They can be difficult to wield, so many people don't buy them at all, usually only someone who has trained their elemental affinity buys them. Minato bought me these when I made Chuunin rank."

Sakumo sighed then looked down at the blade before he said wryly, "that's nice but how in the world am I supposed to carry this?"

She reached into her kunai pouch and pulled out a scroll she opened it before swiping a bloody finger down one of the seals inside. With a puff of smoke a leather belt appeared and attached to it was a sheath for a Tanto, she tossed it at him and said, "use that. I was originally going to by a Tanto since they're easier to conceal then my swords but well... I couldn't refuse Minato's gift." She ran her fingers across the hilt above her right shoulder as she said, "they are beautiful after all."

He shrugged but put the belt on to where the opening of the sheath was over his left shoulder and the belt ran from his left shoulder to his right hip. He then slid the Tanto into the sheath and practiced pulling it out to get used to the motion that he needed to make instinctual to his muscles now.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Two days later they met up with the Kumo escort and the caravan they would be guarding on the way back to Konoha. To the shock of both caravans and the Kumo escort the groups were attacked by a group of Nuke-Nin from Kirigakure, Iwagakure and Tanigakure. Although startled Kushina and Sakumo quickly regrouped, Kushina unsheathed her swords and began to channel chakra through them. Meanwhile, Sakumo reached over his left shoulder with his right hand and unsheathed the Tanto he had been gifted.

He too began to channel chakra through the blade and when he sliced the nin in front of him it left a trail of white behind it, the white light looked like a white fang. While Kushina's blades were glowing crimson red, as she sliced through some of the Nuke-Nin she growled and let her eyeteeth lengthen with the influx of some of the Kyuubi's chakra. The Nuke-Nin currently facing off against her had his eyes widening in shock at the way her grey eyes had gained slit pupils and her canine teeth had lengthened.

As she growled in anger due to his attempt to injure or kill the people under her watch she used the body flicker technique to disappear in a whirl of flames and appeared next to him. She kicked him, propelling him face first through a tree nearby due to both the momentum and force of her kick. She then used the body flicker technique to land in the middle of a group of five nin and quickly dispatched them in a similar manner as the first save for the way she impaled them on her swords before she kicked them off of the blades.

Sakumo watched in bemusement as his partner tore a swath through the ones closest to her while he did the same. His Tanto had a shorter reach than her two Katana's but the Tanto certainly did it's job well of channeling his Chakra. While the two were taking down the ninja, which unknown to them both were all at Jounin level, while only one of the pair was at Jounin rank the other was at Chuunin rank.

One of the Kumo Nin murmured, "who are they?"

The one beside him said, "I don't have a flipping clue but I know what I'm going to call them from now on."

The rest of the Kumo nin glanced at her, before one of them asked, "what's that?"

She smirked and said, "the White Fang and the Crimson Blade," at the moment she said that Sakumo noticed one of the Nuke-Nin's was running away so he summoned his wolves and set them after him. The wolves snarled viciously before chasing down the nin and when he refused to stop one of the smaller ones bit his leg. While he was distracted by that one of the lager wolves leapt up and clenched it's jaws around his throat crushing his windpipe.

The Kumo Nins winced at that and one said, "oookaaay, your nickname for him seems very much appropriate right now." The others nodded their agreements, and all the males winced when Kushina had slammed her heel into one of the Nin's crotch when he tried to grab her from behind. The one who spoke earlier said in a shaky tone of voice, "remind me never to get on her bad side."

The others chorused even the men from two caravans watching had joined in with the chorus of, "same here!"

Fifteen minutes after the Nuke-Nin's had attacked they were defeated soundly, Kushina looked around her to see if there were anymore Nuke-Nins standing to find that none were. She then turned to her current partner, she blinked at his slightly disheveled appearance then began laughing. He blinked a bit at her before he took a good look at her appearance and started laughing himself.

The Kumo Nins nodded and one remarked, "yeah, those nicknames stay. Matter of a fact lets use them in our reports when we get back." The rest nodded in agreement while staring at the laughing duo, Kushina had sheathed her swords smoothly while Sakumo did the same.

One of the female Nins pointed something out, "but we don't know their real names if people are going to be using the nicknames they need to know their birth names." A few of the older Ninja looked at each other before they sighed, she was right, they did need to know their names before using the nicknames for them.

At the same moment they had finished their small discussion, Kushina and Sakumo had calmed down their laughter enough for Kushina to gasp out. "We make a damn good team, Sakumo Hatake."

His response was to chuckle but he nodded and said, "indeed we do, indeed we do." He then pointed a finger at her, "you, Kushina Uzumaki, are one hell of a fighter and I am glad you're on my side. Because I'd hate to be your enemy."

She laughed again before she slapped him on the shoulder and said, "well, funs over. Time to get back to work," she then walked over to the two caravans and nodded genially to the Kumo Nins. At the moment neither of their villages were at war with one another so it was relatively safe for them to be somewhat friendly. After the introductions were made the two village escorts traded caravans and began to head home.

The Kumo Nins were subtly interrogating the Caravan that came from Konoha about their two escorts. In the end the information that was gleaned from the merchants was enough to start the ball rolling on Kushina, the Crimson Blade and Sakumo, the White Fang's fearful reputations. Soon after the Kumo Nins made it back to their village and had given their reports, the pictures, names and nicknames of Kushina and Sakumo were entered in the Bingo Book of Kumogakure.

As they traveled back to Konoha the pair and their new caravan ran into the same bandit group from before. This time however the bandits took one look at the pair and ran screaming away from them, Kushina tilted her head to the left and asked in a faux innocent tone, "do you think it was something we said?"

Sakumo pretended to be confused and said while rubbing his fingers on his chin worriedly, "maybe…" the pair then looked at each other and burst out laughing.

The members of the caravan looked at them in shock, they had just scared over thirty bandits away just by standing there. Kushina and Sakumo had been ordered to escort the caravan to Suna, Kushina had snorted and said, "terrific. I'm off to the one place that hates ramen." She had pouted for days at having to journey all the way to Suna before heading back home.

After they had dropped of the caravan and spent the night at a decent hotel the pair started their journey back to Konoha. Unknown to the pair the caravan was already expanding their reputation, the Suna Nins were being treated to an exaggerated tale about the attack on the caravans and the Kumo Nin. Their new nicknames which they were still clueless about were already spreading far and wide, the Suna Nins that had missions would spread the reputation and monikers that would stay until even past their deaths. However the pair were completely clueless about the new data entries in the Bingo books of Suna and Kumo, the caption in both read, ' **engage in combat only if absolutely necessary.** '

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Five weeks after picking up the caravan at the border of the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Frost the pair walked back through the gates of Konoha. Kushina sighed happily at seeing the gate and said, "home sweet home." Both nodded greetings to the gate guards before leaping up and racing across the rooftops to the Hokage tower.

Sakumo asked, "hey, Kushina!"

She looked over at him and asked, "what?"

"This is probably a dumb question but why do you enter a building through a door but leave through the window?" He shouted his question over at her in mid leap.

She laughed and shouted her reply, "because when I enter the building through the door it throws people off. Shinobi don't expect fellow Shinobi to walk through a door, when a civilian sees me enter through a door they expect me to leave by the same method. I sometimes reverse it and enter through a window and leave through a door, it not only throws people off but it also makes them underestimate me."

He blinked for a few minutes before he shouted over at her, "that actually makes sense. Do you mind if I borrow your philosophy?"

She grinned at him and said, "nope. I don't mind at all," with that she raced up the side of the building and landed with a crouch on the sill of the Hokage's window seconds later Sakumo joined her. She waved hello at the third Hokage who merely rolled his eyes at her antics before gesturing for both to come in.

After they had given their reports the Hokage said, "alright. I expect a written report from both of you in three days, the two of you are dismissed." As the pair were walking to the door he added, "Minato and Kakashi are at the hospital if the two of you want to see them."

Before the Hokage could get out the words that both were fine the pair had used the body flicker technique to disappear, with fire and leaves respectively, and reappeared at the hospital. Both went into the hospital and Kushina marched up to the desk after she had gotten the attendants attention she asked, "do you know where Minato Namikaze and Kakashi Hatake are?"

The nurse said, "one moment and I'll check." She then turned to her computer, typed in both names and said, "ah yes, Kakashi Hatake is assigned to floor three, room number three fifteen."

Sakumo started to head up the stairs immediately, Kushina turned to her and said, "thank you we'll head on up."

The nurse nodded before she turned back to her paperwork, Kushina bounded up the stairs behind Sakumo and headed to room number three hundred and fifteen. As they opened the door they heard Minato berating Kakashi, "what were you think trying that move while you were alone? What if I hadn't have stopped by to checkup on you? You could have laid there for hours without anyone knowing you had exhausted yourself of chakra!"

Kushina opened the door quietly and they could see the blond haired man staring down at a silver haired boy that was resting in the bed. The boy was staring down at the blanket guiltily. Minato shook his head and said sternly, "you will follow the medics orders. You will stay in the hospital until they are satisfied that you have recovered and then whatever they tell you to do and not to do you will follow to the letter. Am I understood?"

Kakashi nodded and said, "yes Minato-Sensei."

Kushina cleared her throat and said, "good. Because I will be making sure that you do follow all the orders you are given even if I have to make my cheetahs follow you around everywhere."

Kakashi's head shot up and he stared with wide eyes at his disappointed father who had said, "and I agree with her. From now on my wolves will shadow your every step if you don't follow all the orders the medics give you to the letter."

Kakashi sighed but nodded and said, "yes father."

Sakumo nodded in satisfaction before he sat on the edge of his sons bed and asked, "other than exhausting your chakra stores… How has your training been going?"

Minato snorted and said, "aside from this one incident… He's been doing rather well, he's got a good grasp of the basics. We'll probably be moving on to more intense training in a few more months, since he obviously doesn't know his limits yet. A good Ninja knows his limits and when to quit trying something that will take more training to accomplish." He stared at his student pointedly as he spoke, Kakashi looked down, he hated to disappoint his sensei even if his sensei was a total goofball sometimes.

Three minutes after that the Healer came in and said, "well. Young Hatake-San seems to be alright. However the other medics and I agree that he should stay here until he's built up sufficient chakra stores, that shouldn't be more than two to three days from now."

Minato nodded and said, "thank you. We'll come by to check on him but, I think it's time me and these two got back to our homes. Kushina and Sakumo have been on a mission for about a month and a half."

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Twenty minutes later the three exited the hospital, Sakumo sighed before he said, "I need a drink…" He then tilted his head and looked at the young couple, "do you two want to join me?"

The pair looked up at him and Kushina said, "I'm not really feeling up to a bar just yet. Mission lag and all."

Sakumo nodded and said airily, "yeah, I know what you mean. I meant, do you two want to join me at my house for a few drinks. For some reason people keep giving me bottles of alcohol for my birthday." He gave them a deadpan stare and asked, "do I seem that much of an alcoholic?"

Minato shrugged and said, "funnily enough they tend to do the same thing with me and I don't drink all that much. I think that most of the civilians assume that we Shinobi of Jounin rank are all alcoholics." He gave them a wry smile, "or that we're all crazy."

Kushina said with a humor filled voice, "I'll concede to the second but not the first." When both men glared at her, she merely smiled and said, "think about it. Most of the people who are of Jounin rank don't exactly act all that sane. We know that it is simply their way of coping and reminding themselves that though they are weapons they're also people."

Sakumo stared at her before he shook himself out of his shock and thought to himself, _'after spending over a month with her, you'd think I'd be used to her antics…'_ He looked at Minato and asked, "so is that a no to the drinking or a yes?"

The pair looked at each other before they answered together, "that was a yes. So long as we don't have to go to a bar."

Sakumo laughed and said, "no bar it is. Truth be told after that scare I don't really want to go to a bar."

With that the three made their way to the Hatake clan complex, which consisted of a house with a huge training area behind it. Sakumo walked in first and disabled the traps in the house before he gestured for them to come in, Kushina walked into the living room and whistled approvingly. Sakumo walked into the living room and set several bottles of Sake and Mirin on the coffee table, he went back into the kitchen to retrieve some sake cups.

The three sat around the table and sipped the sake, after a few minutes of silence Minato asked, "so did anything interesting happen on your mission?"

Kushina waved her hand dismissively and said, "a couple of bandit attacks, and we got attack by a group of Nuke-Nins when we made it to the rendezvous point. Other than that, not a whole lot happened…" She paused and took a sip of sake before she remarked, "well except for the odd looks the Kumo Nins gave us. Come to think of it, the Suna Nins were giving us the same looks toward the end of our stay there."

Sakumo pointed at her and said, "you're right. They were giving us the same odd looks."

Minato raised an eyebrow at the pair before he asked, "what kind of looks?"

Kushina took a deep swig of the sake before she answered, "it was kind of a mix of 'dear god who are these crazy people' and the look civilians get around Shinobi for the first time they see them do wall or water walking."

Minato looked down at his cup of sake before he said, "that is a very odd look." He then looked up at them and asked, "Sakumo, did you have that sword when you left?"

Sakumo looked over his shoulder and noticed that he still had his Tanto on, he then looked over at Kushina and after he saw she still had hers on he told her, "take off your swords. Not like anyone or anything is going to attack you here anyway." As he spoke he took of the sword and set it to the side carefully before he took another swig of the sake in front of him.

He then realized he hadn't answered Minato's question, "I got that from the Head of one of the Caravans we escorted. It was a gift for not traumatizing his daughter when a bandit attempted to hold her hostage."

Minato took a deep drink of the sake in front of him then noticed that his cup was dry so he refilled it before he said, "tell me about it. Hell you might as well tell me all about your trip."

Kushina stared down at her drink before looking up at him and asked, "where would you like us to start?"

Minato looked at the pair bemusedly before he said, "start with the bandit attack. That sounded rather interesting." As the pair explained in great detail they all drank sake eventually forgoing the cups for drinking straight out of the bottles.

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The next morning Kushina woke up with the worst hangover she ever encountered yet, she could tell she was on a bed but beyond that she didn't know where she was. She kept her eyes closed and stretched out her other senses to see if she could tell where she was by them alone. She felt a heat source behind her and in front of her, now that she was paying attention she could feel naked skin against hers.

She took a deep breath through her nose and smell the familiar scent of cordite, the same heavy scent the air got before a storm and honeysuckle. But intertwined with those very familiar smells was the smell of the forest as it turned to autumn, a faint musky smell and the scent of jasmine flowers. All three smells had become familiar over the last month and a half, she groaned quietly but peeked up at the person in front of her. She was looking up into the familiar face of her boyfriend, Minato, she swallowed if her senses were right about that one… Were they right about the second…

She turned her head and looked over her shoulder at the third person in the bed, she saw the peaceful face of Sakumo Hatake. Minato's arm was draped over her waist while Sakumo had one under her neck and had his other hand resting on her right hip. He was curled up behind her rather protectively while Minato had her head tucked under his chin when she had woken up.

She took a deep breath before letting it out slowly and thought to herself, ' _okay, what do we remember about last night, self? Ah yes, Minato had us recount our trip and the fights we had. The whole time we're telling him we had been drinking pretty steadily and by the time it had gotten dark we were very drunk. Sakumo wasn't about to let us go home that drunk so he offered to let us stay. He had joked that his bed was big enough for three…'_

She groaned quietly again as she remembered how Minato had joked that he never had a threesome before and how she had been drunk enough to suggest one. Minato and Sakumo had been just drunk enough to agree to it. She shifted and hissed quietly before she thought, _'well despite the fact that I don't really remember a thing, it seems we actually went with the idea... I'm too sore for us not to have...'_

She then pushed herself up carefully so as not to disturb the two men, she then glared down at them and muttered to herself, "I can only hope the two of you are as sore as I am when you finally wake up."

She then crawled out of the rather comfy and inviting bed, as soon as she stepped out of the bed she almost collapsed and growled in frustration. She had then straightened up before she carefully leaned over to pick up a shirt and a pair of pants at random from the floor. It wasn't until she had them on that she realized that neither of them were hers, she was wearing Minato's pants and Sakumo's shirt. She looked down at the clothes before she shrugged and turned back to the two men to cover them up so they didn't get cold.

She stopped in her tracks and stared at the two, her lips then twitched in amusement, it would appear that while she had been getting dressed the two men had missed her warmth and rolled to the middle to soak up the residual heat that her body left behind. The two men were now cuddled up against each other, she shook her head in amusement before she grabbed one of the blankets and tossed it over their lower halves. She then found her weapon pouch and riffled through the scroll inside before she found her camera and took a picture of the scene before her.

As she walked down the stairs she snickered, she had placed the camera back into the scroll and then put the scroll back into the weapon pouch. _'hopefully this won't damage the relationship that me and Sakumo built during our mission. I honestly don't think it will… but you never know.'_

She walked into the kitchen and began to make her hangover cure as well as breakfast she muttered as she mixed the egg batter for the rolled omelets. "I have the feeling this will take a while to sort out, no matter how drunk we were at the time we still did it…" she smirked and muttered, "though I have to say that it hadn't been that a bad of an experience at all."

* * *

As Kushina woke up from the dream/memory she smiled sadly, she really did miss Sakumo, missed him more than she ever thought she would… The two of them had walked into that mission mere comrades and acquaintances but emerged from it the best of friends. Even if the two of them had liked to make people think otherwise by acting as if they merely treated each other civilly in public because it wouldn't do to see a pair of Shinobi acting like they hate each other. The two had made a bond that nothing that anyone had thrown at them could break, it had been every bit as strong as her bond with Minato was. And after that night and extremely awkward morning, Sakumo and Minato had ended up pretty close friends, after a few month he'd gotten to know the pair fairly well enough to call them his closest friends, if not his best friends.

It had been so strong that not even the death of one of them could break it, she still had a loyalty to him that no one could shake or cause her to doubt. She closed her eyes and remembered the reaction of the two men when they realized they had been cuddling each other in their sleep. They couldn't get away from each other fast enough, it hadn't been until after her and Minato married that she had told him that she'd taken a picture of them. He had looked down at the picture sadly, after Kushina and Sakumo had gone on so many missions together and the subsequent drinking together afterward with the three of them the three had ended up close friends. After Sakumo's death Minato started to become more serious and less of a goofball that he used to be, even Kakashi noticed it but kept quiet about the change.

As she rolled out of bed she placed her right hand over her left side where the seal that allowed her to summon Sakumo's wolves once sat. It was most likely gone now, after her death and subsequent reincarnation, she missed being able to summon them to feel the closeness she once had with their dead master. She paused in thought and wondered if they would still recognize her chakra by the taint of the Kyuubi on her soul and come if she called them anyway. After all her cheetahs and snakes had come even though she hadn't re-signed the contracts yet when she had summoned them.

Of course she had needed to sign the contracts for them both again but since she'd already passed the tests they just let her sign them. She had once been able to summon four different animals the cheetahs, which was her personal public summon, then came the snakes, which few knew she could summon. She also had the Toads which had for some reason adored her sense of humor and her hair color, then the Wolves, they had also liked her sense of humor. Gamabunta especially liked her sense of humor and her tendency to insult the enemy to their faces.

She had been one of the only people who could get Manda and Gamabunta to set aside their petty fighting and quarreling to behave enough to fight on the same battlefield and not against each other. Minato had found it hilarious that the bosses of the Serpent and Toad contracts were terrified of his wife's temper, he had once remarked, "only you Kushina could terrify the bosses of those two summons."

As she walked into the bathroom she thought to herself thinking back to that morning, ' _that had been the most awkward morning after discussion that I had ever participated in or overheard. But we managed to work things out without things getting really weird… Hell we ended up closer than we thought possible to begin with!'_

After Sakumo's death both Minato and Kushina had demanded that Kakashi be placed in Minato's care and under his guardianship. Thankfully the Hokage agreed to allow it very quickly and not a moment too soon, as several families wanted to set up a betrothal contract with Kakashi. Every one of the proposals were refused by Minato as he knew that Sakumo didn't want his son to marry for anything but love.

Neither Minato nor Kushina could bring themselves to tell Kakashi just how close they had been to his father. Especially since Kakashi had started to cover the lower half of his face since he couldn't bear to see his extreme resemblance to his father anymore. Kushina had cursed every villager that she heard speak badly of Sakumo in her prescence and pranked the living hell out of them as well for good measure.

Kushina shook her head again as she ran a bath with the scents of honeysuckle and jasmine mixed with musk and the closest smell to the air right before it rained that the tub had. She felt like smelling them all day, it never failed to amaze her that Kisuke smelled exactly how he did as Minato.

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After a thirty minute soak in the tub she was still tense so she decided to go see if Kenpachi would be up for an early morning spar. She walked out of her rooms into the common room to find it completely empty, she looked out one of the windows to find that it was still dark. "Huh, it's still dark out…" she said before she cast the Tempus charm and found out it was five thirty in the morning.

She shook her head as she left the common room and headed to the right, she eventually stopped in front of a portrait of a lioness and her cub. The lioness looked down at her and Kushina said, "a mountain will not bow now matter how much the wind howls at it."

The portrait swung open and Kushina walked inside to find Kenpachi sitting by the window enjoying a cup of tea or sake. She wasn't too sure what he was drinking, he said without looking up, "good morning Kushina."

She smiled at him and said, "good morning Kenpachi. Do you feel up to a spar?"

He tilted his belled head to look over at her and said, "when am I not?" She conceded his point with a cant of her head as she watched him rise from his seat and grabbed his Zanpakuto. Only the Arrancar were bothering to wear gigai and the gigai they were wearing was special, if their Reiatsu suppression bracelet was taken off it would allow them to manifest their resurreccion in the living world. Plus it converted any food they ate to the proper nourishment that a hollow needed to live.

The pair walked to the Room of Requirement and Kushina allowed Kenpachi to choose the location of their spar this time. They had a deal, whoever didn't pick the last time would pick the next time they sparred.

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An hour later Kushina was panting and so was her sparring partner, but both had grins on their faces and even though they had nicks and cuts all over neither of them were seriously injured. The pair had always been extremely careful when sparing at the school instead of Jackal's Lair, Madam Pomfrey reminded Kenpachi of Captain Unohana too much for him to disobey and get seriously hurt.

Kushina rolled her shoulders and sighed in relief, all of the tension that had built up in her muscles had finally dissipated. She then turned to Kenpachi and said, "well, breakfast will be served soon so we better go get cleaned up." With that she put her swords away and walked out of the Room of Requirement before she headed back to Gryffindor Tower.

Hermione was reading a book when she walked into the common room, she looked up at Kushina and asked, "did you and Kenpachi have fun sparring?"

Kushina cracked her neck before giving the brown eyed girl a small smile and said, "yep. Now if you'll excuse me I need to go take a shower before breakfast. After all we're to head straight to class afterwards." With that she turned to Minato and without her saying a word he opened up to let her into her quarters.

Hermione shook her head in amusement before she turned back to her book and began reading again. She muttered, "I blame you for making me addicted to this series." She paused for a moment in thought before she uttered, "I think I need to convince her to give the first one to Charlie, he'd probably enjoy a book series about dragons." With that remark to herself she started reading the Harper trilogy part of the Dragon Rider series by Anne McCaffery that Kushina had gotten her hooked on.


	10. Chapter Nine: Disgruntlement over Sight

**Chapter Nine:** **Disgruntlement Over Sight**

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Thirty minutes later Kushina came out of her rooms wearing the school uniform and carrying her bag. She tossed the bag next to Hermione before she asked, "Ron still asleep?"

Hermione nodded and asked curiously, "are you going to wake him up?"

Kushina grinned deviously before she shook her head and said, "nope."

Hermione looked at her puzzled and asked after she waited several moments for Kushina to elaborate. "Okay, then how are we getting him up?" She raised an eyebrow at her golden eyed friend.

Kushina looked at the watch that her Dad had given her on her birthday, Severus had given her a potion that had corrected her eyesight. She finally was without her glasses, that had annoyed her furiously last year. Of course last year she had worn contacts when she was going to Konoha since wearing glasses underneath the masks was a pain. It could be done of course but it was uncomfortable as hell. Three minutes later Rukia came into the common room and asked, "what did you need me for Kushina?"

She smirked at the black haired noble woman, "how would you like to wake up Ron today?"

Rukia grinned at her and said, "sure," with that she all but skipped up the stairs and five minutes afterward she ran back down the stairs laughing. Ron chased down after her wearing only his boxers and he was soaking wet. Kushina leaned against the back of the couch as she laughed while Hermione laughed so hard she fell off the couch.

The reason they were laughing was because Ron was yelling after her, "DAMN IT RUKIA! THAT'S NOT A NICE WAY TO WAKE UP!" He didn't even seem to realize how underdressed he was when he ran out into the hallway until he heard scandalized screams from some of the female portraits, the others were catcalling at him. He stormed back into the common room beet red and stalked up the stairs to the boys dorm.

When Neville came downstairs three minutes after Ron went back up he was fighting a grin and asked Kushina, "was that your idea?"

Kushina snickered and said, "well waking him up that way wasn't but it was my idea to have Rukia wake him up."

Dean and Seamus then stumbled down the stairs yawning and said to Kushina, "you have the most entertaining ways of waking Ron up you know."

She laughed and said, "if I really wanted to entertain you… I'd have a snake wake him up by hissing at him."

Seamus shuddered and said, "please don't."

"Why not? Are you scared of them?" Kushina teased as they walked out of the common room to head to the Great Hall.

"No! Well at least not as much as I'm scared of Banshees but still they kind of creep me out…" Seamus said with a slight shudder.

"Okay fine, I won't send a snake to wake Ron up," she said as she paused at the doorway for Karin to finish tying her shoes before she raced after her older cousin and her cousins friends. "A little slow there, Karin."

"Yeah well, I didn't exactly have a very quiet night you know." She sneered in disgust, at Kushina raised eyebrow she explained, "the other girls in my dorm were chattering about boys all night until about one in the morning."

Hermione winced in understanding and said, "I know how you feel, all that Lavender and Parvati seem to talk about these days is fashion and boys." She rolled her eyes in exasperation and said, "honestly there is more to life than fashion and boys."

"You only say that because you snagged Kenpachi Zaraki." Kushina ribbed her gently as the walked down the stairs to the sixth floor where they met up with Luna who had done her hair up in a bun. She was chatting with Sanji who seemed quite bewildered by this blond haired mortal who was asking him about hollows. He sighed in relief upon seeing Kushina and the others before he winced when Luna grabbed his hand and tugged him with her when she started walking down the stairs.

After they all reached the Great Hall the Gryffindors waved goodbye to Luna who had dragged Sanji toward the Ravenclaw table. Hermione had looked longingly toward the portraits of the four founders but Kushina had grabbed her wrist and said, "you need to eat first. If we have enough time after eating and getting our schedules for the year you can talk to them all you want."

Hermione pouted slightly but sat down and began to put her usual breakfast fare onto her plate, as she watched Kushina place a small pile of bacon off to the side she asked, "where's Hedwig at? I haven't seen her very much lately."

Kushina groaned and said, "last May it seemed that Hedwig found another snowy owl and decided that he was cute enough to have eggs with. She brought him back with her, I don't think he's owned by a wizard but he seems friendly enough, he's only slightly wary around me but since the chicks have hatched and Hedwig has allowed me to hold the chicks he's mellowed out." Kushina shrugged as if to say, 'what can you do?'

Kushina laughed a bit before she remarked, "I now have two owls instead of one, though the boy does seem to have taken a liking to Kisuke, that's where he is right now. Hedwig had nested in my old trunk and I had Winky transport her back to Grimmauld Place during the summer, the first egg hatched on the thirteenth of July and the last egg hatched on the ninth of August. The chicks started exploring the world outside of the nest recently, the last chick though seems to still want to stay in the nest even if the rest of them are already underfoot and I'm having to be careful in my own quarters so I don't hurt them." She dropped her head to the table with a dull thunk and groaned.

Hermione and the others blinked a bit in shock, Ginny questioned, "what are you going to do with them when they've fledged?"

She sighed and looked up at the only female Weasley, "do you want an owl, Ginny? Believe me you'd be doing me a favor, I think Hedwig wants to pick the homes of her chicks. I know she likes you, both sets of the twins, Neville, Sirius and Severus, Dad and Papa, Uryu and Grimmjow, Ichigo and Byakuya but even if I give all of you just one chick that still leaves me with six chicks to find a home for!" As she had spoken each name and couple she had ticked off a finger until she had eight fingers raised.

Hermione stared then did the mental math and said aghast, "Hedwig had fourteen chicks!"

Kushina nodded and said, "yep," she then sighed and said thoughtfully, "maybe I should put a notice up in all of the common rooms. About the six chicks, I mean."

At that moment Yachiru came up and latched onto Kushina's shoulder, she chirped, "good morning Pretty-Pretty!"

Kushina sighed and said, "good morning Yachiru-Chan." Then Kushina's eyes lit up and asked Yachiru sweetly, "Yachiru how would you like to have your own pretty bird?"

She cocked her pink head cutely and asked, "like the bumblebee's pretty fire bird?"

Kushina shook her head and said, "no, like Hedwig. You did consider Hedwig pretty didn't you Yachiru?"

She nodded rapidly and chirped, "yes! Hedwig is a pretty-pretty bird, she's all white like snow!"

Kushina ran her fingers though the small girls cotton candy colored hair and asked, "does that mean you'd like to have one of her babies?"

Yachiru looked at her and asked, "babies? Hedwig has babies?"

Kushina nodded and said, "uh huh. The first should be fledging soon around the thirteenth. I have to ask a few more people if they want one of them but would you like one?"

Yachiru frowned and said, "I'd have to ask Ken-Chan to see if it'd be okay. But if he says yes then I want one of her babies!"

Kushina laughed lightly before she said, "then you'd better go ask him!" She then shooed the rambunctious Lieutenant away to go ask her captain if she could have a pet owl. Hermione raised an eyebrow at her and Kushina explained, "Yazu and Yachiru are friends, it'll be easier for the two of them to keep in touch if Yachiru has an owl. If the owl bonds with Yachiru as her familiar then it'll be able to do like the hell butterflies and crossover the barrier on its own."

Hermione gaped at her and asked in shock, "how do you know that!"

Kushina cocked an eyebrow at her friend and said slowly, "Hedwig bonded to me as my familiar. She followed me to the Seireitei a few times, the first time she showed up most of the Shinigami were in shock, they'd never seen an owl in the Seireitei before." Kushina then stood up and said, "I'm going to go ask Uncle Severus and Dad if they want a snowy owl once Hedwig's chicks have fledged."

With that she walked up to the Staff table and after nodding hello to the Professors, Shinigami and Arrancar up there she stopped by Severus. He looked up at her and asked, "something you need Kushina?"

She smiled happily down at him and said, "I was wondering if you and Uncle Sear would be interested in owning one of Hedwig's chicks?"

He blinked but replied slowly, "I don't see why not, neither of us would consider it prey and since it would be staying in the Owlery Hedwig would be able to visit her chick." Kushina nodded, she then turned to her Dad and Papa before she asked, "what about you two? Would you like one of Hedwig's chicks?"

Remus tugged his daughter down into his lap before he looked over at James and asked, "well?"

James laughed at the startled look on their daughters face before he answered, "sure, we need an owl anyway. We can't keep borrowing Hedwig to do any deliveries, especially since she does have chicks."

Remus gave his mate a conceding nod before he turned to his daughter and asked, "who else is getting a chick besides Severus and Sirius?"

Kushina started naming the people she planned to ask as well as the people who had already given their answer, "Ginny has agreed to take one along with Neville, both sets of twins, Uryu said he'd talk to Grimmjow about it, Ichigo has already agreed to take one. You and Dad are taking one along with Uncle Rus and Uncle Sear, Toshiro has already asked for one and Yachiru is asking Kenpachi if she can have one. Of course that leaves at least four without a home… Maybe I can ask Mikoto's nephew, Shisui, if he'd be so kind as to take one off my hands…" She then got up from her papa's lap and walked down to where Professor McGonagall was handing out the Class Schedules.

Kushina nodded to the Deputy Headmistress in thanks before she sat down and compared hers against Ron's. "Hmmm, the schedule's different from last year. Me and Ron have a free period right off before first break, its for forty five minutes which means we an hour and a half to do some studying. Then comes DADA followed by Lunch, then another free period, that's followed by potions, double with Slytherin of course. Then it's Dinner followed by Shinigami Arts Class taught by me."

Hermione pouted and said, "I have Ancient Runes right off the bat, after that my schedule is the same as yours. Here," Hermione handed Kushina her class schedule while she said, "let me see yours."

Kushina shrugged then looked Hermione's schedule over, "huh, you're right it's the same as ours except for the fact that the free period we have on Wednesday at ten forty-five is the Ancient Runes class to you."

Hermione hummed and nodded as she glanced over Kushina's schedule before she said, "well, I'm going to head to Ancient Runes. I'll see the two of you at break or Defense Against the Dark Arts." With that she waved goodbye after picking up her book bag and walking toward the door with the Ravenclaws still taking the class.

Ron looked over at Kushina and asked, "what are you going to do while we're waiting to go to Defense?"

Kushina tilted her head back and stared up at the sky, she hummed lightly before she said, "I think I'll go check on Hedwig and her chicks, then I'm going to go test something in the Room of Requirement." With that she picked up her bag and walked out of the hall.

Ron sat at the table and muttered, "at least I don't have to rush through my breakfast for once." He then perked up, before he thought to himself, ' _I won't have to rush through breakfast on Monday's anymore! I can sleep in a bit if I want!'_ Rukia sat down next to Ron and wondered what he was smiling about.

She poked him in the shoulder before she asked, "Ron, what are you so happy about?"

He looked over at the grey eyed shinigami and said, "I won't have to rush through breakfast on Monday's ever again!" Rukia shook her head with a small smile at her boyfriends antics, in some ways he really reminded her of Renji.

* * *

Meanwhile Kushina was walking up the stairs to the Gryffindor common room, she nodded hello to the fat lady and gave her the password before she entered. She walked through the empty room to Minato's portrait, he swung open without saying a word, as she entered she heard a deep barking cry from the male owl that Hedwig brought home last year. Once he saw it was only her he quieted down and merely made a few clacking sounds with his tongue and beak.

She walked over and scratched him lightly under his beak before she said, "Kisuke really needs to name you. I'm getting tired of calling you, mister Hedwig, after all." At that she heard a slight scratching on the floor and looked down in time to see a grey feathered ball come tumbling into the room. She reached down and picked up the chick before it could run into her leg, it nibbled at her fingers affectionately before it looked up at her with big yellow eyes, Kushina rolled her eyes but dug out an owl treat and gave it to the chick.

She then walked into her bedroom where Winky had placed the nest, she counted the chicks but only found twelve chick counting the one she was holding. She placed the chick beside Hedwig and looked under her bed, she found one poking its beak at something lying on the floor. She reached under and after grabbing the chick gently she pulled both the chick and whatever had caught it's attention out from under the bed. She snorted as she looked down at the chocolate frog card that the chick had clutched in its beak.

She tugged the card out of it's mouth and looked at which one it was, she snorted seeing that it had grabbed hold of one of her Dumbledore cards. The owlet actually gave her a mournful cheep when she took the card from it, she smiled but gave it an owl treat to keep it from complaining about her not giving it the card back. She set it by it's mother and said, "well, girl I'm going to have to hunt the room for your lost chick. I don't suppose you were paying attention to where it went?"

She ruffled her feathers and hooted softly before she clacked her beak and tongue. Kushina snorted and said wryly, "I'm going to assume that was a 'no, of course I didn't see where it went. Do you honestly expect me to keep track of fourteen chicks?' Shall I, girl?" Hedwig clacked her beak again before preening the chicks nearby.

Kushina bit her left thumb and summoned one of the smaller snakes before she said, "Saka, can you do me a favor and see if you can find one of Hedwig's chicks? It's somewhere in the room."

Saka looked up at Kushina and hissed out, "of course. Although most wouldn't bother to summon a predator to look for a owlet, you know."

Kushina was searching near her armoire and retorted, "you know better then to harm one of Hedwig's chicks. You do that and I'll make a snake belt from your hide before feeding your carcass to Hedwig. Besides you wouldn't be able to fit your jaws around it to swallow it so what would be the point of hurting it."

The snake hissed a laugh but flicked it's tongue out to search for the scent of the lost chick. After checking the bedroom Saka went into the bathroom and found the chick sleeping in a bundle of towels. She then made her way out into the bedroom and hissed, "it's sleeping in the bathroom."

Kushina peeked in the bathroom and saw the chick lying peacefully dozing in the pile of towels from her shower earlier. She shook her head but left the chick be, she then scooped up Saka and walked out of her bathroom, as she walked to the common room she asked the snake, "do you want to come with me and watch while I attempt to summon the toads?"

Saka hissed lightly as she wrapped herself around Kushina's throat before she replied, "sure. But how are you going to summon them? You don't have a contract with them after all."

Kushina reached up and rubbed the light green snake on the head before she said, "I'm hoping that somehow that seal is still on me and I can still summon them. Otherwise I'll just have to wait until I see Jiraiya again and get the seal again from him."

The snake hissed lightly in amusement but watched as Kushina paced in front of the tapestry of the troll ballet. After she had paced in front of it three times the door appeared, Kushina walked in to the room to find a large field she smiled smugly. She reached up to her arm after slicing open her palm and pressed her hand just under where her ANBU tattoo used to be. She sent a pulse of chakra through her blood into her arm and hoped that it would work. After a few seconds she started to sigh in disappointment before with a puff of smoke a toad appeared underneath her.

"WHOA!" She yelped startled as she held on not having expected for Gamabunta to show up when she summon a toad.

The Boss toad looked up at the top of his head and growled, "alright who called me here. Your chakra seems familiar but I only have one summoner!"

Kushina grinned down at the boss toad before she said in a mock sad voice, "what's the matter, 'Bunta-Chan? Don't you recognize me?"

The large toad dropped his Kiseru Pipe and uttered in a slightly shocked and choked tone, "Kushina-Chan?"

She dropped down to stand in front of the large toad and waved up at him, "hello Bunta-Chan! It's been a while."

Gamabunta stared down at one of the very few people to have gained enough of his respect that he allowed her to ride on his head. He asked in a hushed voice, or at least as hushed as a toad that made trees look small could, "how are you alive? I saw you die, I saw both you and Minato die!"

Kushina sighed as she closed her eyes and looked down, she opened them back up after several minutes then she glanced up at the dull red toad, "that is a long story. Do you have time to listen to it, 'Bunta?"

He snorted and as he settled down on the ground to listen he picked up his pipe before he muttered, "for this story… I'll make time!"

As Kushina explained he smoked his pipe, of course when she got to the point where she had been part of the King of the Shinigami's personal guard he gaped down at her. She then summoned her Zanpakuto spirits and had them wave hello at the toad boss. He nodded a hello back before both went back into Kushina's inner world. Kushina then took the story back up until she ended with, "and that's that. As soon as I've dealt with Voldemort I can return permanently back to Konoha if I want. I've been going back once and a while to check on Naruto, he's doing okay, I've got the cheetahs keeping an eye on him for me as well as a House elf."

She then laughed gently before she remarked, "Manda even let him sign the Serpent master contract scroll. Naruto doesn't know that Ryuu is me, he thinks I'm just an ANBU that's been assigned a mission outside of the veil."

Bunta blinked down at the crimson haired woman before he smirked at her and said, "make sure that this moron Voldemort learns to fear the Crimson Blade of Konoha. Okay, 'Shina-Chan?"

She laughed darkly before she said with a wicked smile at the large toad, "oh, don't worry Gamabunta. I fully intend to, especially since when he starts going on about being Slytherin's heir I plan to pull Manda onto the battlefield and dare him to prove it."

Gamabunta laughed for a few minutes before he cocked his scared brow ridge at her and asked, "what about Minato? What happened to him?"

Kushina leaned back on the grass, she used her hands to pillow her head, "he was sent on to Soul Society by the King, his memories were suppressed before he was sent though. The King told me that he'll get them back later, I'm supposed to have the key for him to get them back but I have no clue what the King meant by that."

She then looked down at her watch and swore loudly, the snake hissed in shock, Kushina then looked up at Gamabunta and said, "I'll talk to you later! I'm going to be late to class if I don't get going!" With that she reached over, grabbed her book bag and raced out of the Room of Requirement before leaping down the stairs five at a time.

Back in the room of Requirement Gamabunta looked after her in amusement before he disappeared. He would honor her request and keep her and Minato's reincarnation a secret from Jiraiya and their son as well as the village of Konoha.

* * *

As Gamabunta disappeared from the Room of Requirement Kushina slid to a stop in front of the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom. Five minutes after she got there the door opened and Remus ushered the sixth years inside. Everyone went inside and took their seats, Remus smiled at them and said cheerfully, "good morning, everyone!"

Most of the students chorused back, "good morning, Professor Lupin!"

Remus chuckled before he walked to the chalkboard in the front of the class and said, "I'm sure you are all wondering what we'll be studying today." The class gave a few nervous laughs before they calmed down, Kushina merely raised an eyebrow at her father. He wrote on the black board, 'werewolves and their packs,' he then pointed at it and said, "that is what we'll be studying."

He looked around at the students and said, "who here can tell me about werewolves and their pack structure? And I don't want you answering that Miss Potter, nor you Mr. Weasley or you either Miss Granger." Kushina snapped her fingers together in mock disappointment while Hermione pouted at Remus.

None of the students beside the trio had an answer for Remus so he allowed Kushina to answer a few questions, he asked her, "what is the pack leader of a werewolf pack called?"

Kushina leaned back and said, "the pack leader or Alpha is called the Ulfric or King. The Alpha female of a werewolf pack is called the Lupa, he or she can be the Alpha's mate or if the Alpha doesn't have a mate they are merely the most dominate female of the pack."

Remus smiled at his daughter and said, "correct," he then turned to Ron and asked, "what is the name of the position of the werewolf who challenges the Alpha for their place in the pack?"

Ron looked up at him and said, "that is called the Fenrir. That title is only given to a challenger and only so long as they are challenging the alpha if they win the fight then they gain the title of Alpha."

Remus nodded in satisfaction before turning to Hermione and said, "Miss Granger name three titles that haven't been mentioned, their position in the pack hierarchy and their jobs therein."

Hermione sat up straighter and said, "there are the Freki and Geri. Although technically the same position, the Freki is senior to the Geri, they are the second in command of the pack. Other wise known as the Betas or Lieutenants of the pack. Then there is the Bolverk, they are considered the go to people of the pack. They do the packs dirty work, like if something needs to be done about an encroaching human settlement on Pack grounds the Bolverk might do a spell to make them leave." She looked to Professor Lupin for approval, which she got via him smiling at her and nodded.

"Very good Miss Granger. However what Hermione neglected to mention was that the Bolverk can have three helpers or none at all. The helpers are named Bangi, Suttung and Guunlod." As Remus spoke he paced in front of his desk and after he finished speaking about the Bolverk's helpers he stopped and pointed at Ron then asked, "what is the names of the bodyguards of the Alpha?"

"Skoll and Hati, the Skoll is senior over the Hati however both are the enforcers of the pack and usually the ones most trusted with the Alpha's cubs. They are the bodyguards to the Ulfric, if the pack is low in number sometime the Skoll will also act as the Freki and the Hati as the Geri." Ron answered promptly.

Remus nodded and said, "alright class. You're homework is very simple, you are to research known werewolf packs of the past and figure out which ones of the pack filled which role." After he said that the bell rung for lunch.

* * *

As the students filed into the Great Hall for lunch some of them stopped by their founders portrait to ask them a question or to say hello. Kushina waved hello at Godric and Salazar who were sharing a portrait and playing chess. Salazar appeared to be losing… badly.

Both men gave her a nod to acknowledge that they saw her greeting them before turning back to their game, the two men were resolutely ignoring the insanity around them. The Grey Lady was speaking quietly to Lady Ravenclaw and her husband, the Bloody Baron had passed by the three and had given a respectful nod to Lady Ravenclaw as he did so.

The trio sat down at the table and began to fill their plates with food, Kushina decided to have two ham and cheese sandwiches along with some chips. A few minutes after the trio began eating Ginny plopped down on the bench across from them and groaned. Kushina looked up at her with a slight frown on her face and asked, "what's with you?"

Ginny gave her fellow red haired witch a deadpan stare before she muttered, "I just got cornered by a pair of fourth year divination students. They had been complaining and whining about not being in Professor Trelawney's class again until their sixth year."

Ron looked at his baby sister in shock before he asked, "you mean they were disappointed that they weren't in her class? Shouldn't they be grateful?"

Ginny nodded in disbelief as she fixed herself a plate of food and said before she began eating, "got it in one. It seems that Headmaster Dumbledore decided that Firenze would take the third, fourth and fifth year divinations students while Trelawney would take the sixth and seventh years."

After she finished her last ham and cheese sandwiches Kushina commented with a smirk, "I bet Trelawney isn't happy about that at all."

Ginny smirked back at her and said, "from what I've heard, you'd be right." Shortly after that Sirius entered the Great Hall with Cassiopeia on his hip, everyone who hadn't stayed late in the Great Hall last night gasped and gaped in shock.

Kushina furrowed her brow in confusion as she glanced around the Hall, "why is everyone so shocked? Surely the students who lagged behind last night told their housemates about Cassiopeia."

Hermione looked around the Hall as well before she said in a mock thoughtful tone, "I'm guessing… NOT!"

Kushina glared lightly at the brown eyed witch who merely smiled back at her benignly.

Meanwhile at the Staff Table, Lily was busy cooing over Cassiopeia while Severus muttered, "personally, I'm glad she takes after her mother in looks. Can you imagine what she'd look like if she took after me?"

Sirius snorted before lightly smacking Severus on the arm and said, "I happen to like the way you look, Severus Tobias Snape-Black!" He huffed slightly before he absently added, "besides she's got your cheek-bones."

Lily looked down at the black haired and eyed baby, she studied the child carefully before she remarked cheerfully, "Sirius is right, Sev. She does have your cheek-bones, sharp enough to cut glass on, she'll be quite the looker when she's all done growing up." With that she started cooing over the baby again babbling about teaching her all the stuff she needed to know when she was older.

After Sirius had finished eating the bite of the roast beef sandwich he was eating he said thoughtfully, "she also has your eyes. Dark and fathomless, eyes that I could get lost in all day and night… Only time will tell if her personality will resemble yours or mine more."

James chuckled lightly before he quipped, "Heaven help Hogwarts if she has gained Padfoot's penchant for mischief while also gaining Severus' stubbornness and cunning." The entire staff table save the marauders, Severus, Albus and Minerva blanch in horror. Severus was too busy groaning in despair if that happened while Sirius was far to amused to consider the thought horrible, in fact he thought it would be brilliant.

Remus chuckled before he said with a wry smile, "be thankful that me and James have yet to procreate again. Can you imagine what it would be like if she did have Sirius' penchant for mischief with Severus' cunning and stubbornness combined with a child that had my talent for planning pranks and James' sense of humor?"

At that thought everyone at the table blanched in horror even the other two marauders. Lily then muttered, "now you've done it… The gods will now laugh horribly at us all and she will have that personality that we've been dreading."

The Slytherins were gaping at their head of house who had taken Cassiopeia from Lily and told her, "eat already and stop doting on my daughter." Lily had rolled her eyes but began eating, Severus was feeding Cassiopeia while Sirius ate and after Cassie was finished Sirius reached into the bag at his feet and handed a towel to Severus. Severus tossed the towel over his shoulder and neck before he held Cassie up to him and patted her back, after a couple of pats she burped.

After Lunch the Gryffindors and Slytherins who had passed potions with a grade good enough for Professor Snape made their way to the dungeons. The door to the Potions classroom was open and they entered, Professor Snape was standing at the board. He looked over his shoulder at the students and said silkily, "sit at the desk with your name on it, that will be your assigned seat for the rest of the school year."

Quietly the students did as he bade, Hermione had the first seat furthest to the left of the room, Neville had been assigned to sit next to Hermione probably in a vain hope that he would blow up as many cauldrons that way. Kushina was assigned to sit right behind Neville.

Ron, meanwhile, was a full desk away straight behind Hermione, Dean however was one desk back right behind Kushina. On the other side of the room, Draco was in the front row right next to the center aisle, Daphne was also right by the aisle but one desk behind Draco. Theodore was sitting in the back row right next to the right hand side wall, while Blaise was one desk in front of him.

While the students were settling into their seat Severus was writing the instructions to the Blood Lust Suppressant Draught. He turned to them and said, "get out the ingredients and begin the draught when you are ready. You have until the end of the class to make the potion, if it is not finished by then you will fail today's lesson. You have," he looks at the clock behind him, "one hour and twenty minutes. That should be enough time, so get started."

With that Kushina placed the ten grams of powdered Angelica root, five milliliters of Aster oil, fifteen mustard seeds, according to the directions she would need to grind them before adding them to the draught. She also put out one ounce of cucumber oil, seventeen grams of Rehmannia, which she would need to crush, and eight vampire bat fangs, since she only had whole fangs she'd need to grind them herself.

She took two cups of water and placed them in a cold pewter cauldron, she then set the cauldron over the fire and allowed it to come to a simmer, which took about three minutes. While she waited for the water to come to a simmer she ground the vampire fangs, after the water was simmering she added the ground fangs to the water. She allowed the fang and water mixture to simmer together for five minutes before she added the Angelica root to it.

She allowed the mixture to simmer for another five minutes before she added the Aster oil to it. She stirred it five times clockwise then six times counterclockwise, while the draught was simmering after that addition she had ground the mustard seeds and added them to the cucumber oil. She allowed the mixture to sit for the fifteen minutes that was required after adding the Aster oil.

She then added the mustard seed and cucumber oil mixture, allowing it to simmer but stirring it twelve times counterclockwise at the height of every minute for eight minutes. After the eight minutes were up she brought it up to a boil and let it stay there for forty-five minutes before she took it off of the heat. Right after she took the draught off of the heat she added the crushed Rehmannia, she then allowed the draught to cool before she placed it into vials.

She held a vial up to the light and smirked in satisfaction, it was a pale cream in color except when the light hit it then it took a more pearlescent sheen. It moved as easily as a watery stew or a very thin gravy. She knew since the moon was beginning to wan it made the effectiveness of the potion increase but the most effective blood lust suppressant would have to be brewed right before the moon became a new moon, when just a sliver of the white moon could be seen. She wondered what her uncle would be doing with all of the draughts, the Blood Lust Suppressant only had a shelf life of twenty eight days, maybe he was donating them to Saint Mungo's…

After Kushina had filled her vials she placed them in a row on the desk, she then started to clean up her area. She took her cauldron as well as mortar and pestle over to the sink she then began to clean it out. She noticed that everyone was finishing up and as she was putting away her cauldron Severus said, "done. Leave the vials of the potion on the desks, you're dismissed until Thursday."

The class nodded and after packing their things filed out of the room, after they had left the dungeon Hermione said, "that was different than usual."

Kushina snorted before she said, "duh. I mean he isn't spying anymore so he doesn't have to play a role, plus he doesn't have to try to dumb things down for so many classes anymore. Aunt Lily is teaching the First through Fifth years so he only has to teach the Sixth and Seventh years."

Ron nodded in agreement before he commented absently, "that and the fact that he doesn't have as many students to a class as before. Plus Neville has gotten better at Potions after being taught by Professor Lily and since he's a whole lot less terrified of Professor Snape. Of course the whole seeing Professor Snape backing away from a woman who doesn't even reach his chest would kind of ruin any fear someone had of him anyway." He snickered lightly before he looked at his two best friends to find them staring at him with an eyebrow raised, Hermione had lifted her left eyebrow while Kushina had raised her right at him.

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and asked, "or was it just me and Neville who saw that happen?"

Kushina snorted and said, "I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that only the two of you witnessed that little scene. 'Cause I certainly don't remember it."

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and said, "I don't either. So who was he backing away from and why was he?"

Ron laughed and said with his blue eyes dancing in amusement at them, "it was Rukia who he was backing away from. As for why… He insulted Chappy the Bunny's show, she heard and took offense."

The two girls snorted in amusement before they walked into the Great Hall for Dinner, Kushina had received a note from the Headmaster during Lunch asking her to announce when the first Shinigami Arts Class was going to be held. She had agreed to do it at Dinner, so after everyone had eaten Albus stood up and tapped a glass to get everyone's attention.

The Hall quieted and even the first years stayed silent although they were wondering what the Headmaster had to announce on the first day of school that he hadn't said at the welcoming feast. He had smiled down at them and said, "I'm sure some of you are wondering if the S.A.C. will be held this year, the announcement is yes, it will be held. I will now have the Professor of the Shinigami Arts Class announce when the first class will be held." He motioned for Kushina to come up beside him at the staff table.

Kushina made her way to the Staff table and took position beside the headmaster, she then cleared her throat before she said, "the first Class of the year will be held in one weeks time." She gave everyone in fourth year and higher a deadpan stare before she said, "in other words the first class will be held on the ninth of September. The demonstration will be held on the seventh, this is not mandatory for the second through seventh years since you've already seen a demonstration class but if you wish to attend, you may."

She then cleared her throat a second time before she said, "Fourth years will take their first class on that day. The fifth years on the tenth, the sixth on the eleventh and the seventh years on the twelfth. On the thirteen the fifth and sixth years will have a shared class, while on the twentieth it will be the fourth and seventh years. Remember this class is voluntary at all times, if you don't want to come then don't but do remember, if you don't show up in the weekday that means you forfeit the right to the class."

She stared at everyone and said sternly, "I will not tolerate disrespect in my class. Any misbehavior or disobedience of my rules will have you banned from my class," at a few twitters from the students she scowled and snarled, "I'm not joking. If you break even one of my rules than I will kick you out of my class and take points from your house depending upon the severity of the rule broken. I have those rules for a reason, mostly for your own safety along with that of your classmates."

With that she stalked toward the Gryffindor Table and scooped up her book bag before she stalked out of the Great Hall. The entire hall was silent behind her before one of the first years asked Ginny, "what is the Shinigami Arts Class?"

Ginny smiled at the first year and said, "it has to be seen to be believed but the class is about a particular branch of magic. The magic is called Kido, Kido is separated into three parts, Bakudo, Hado and the healing arts. If you want to know more than that just show up to the demonstration, they're always fun to watch."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

An hour later found Kushina in the common room listening to the other students distractedly as she was writing her essay, she had found a reference to an old werewolf pack. It was simply referred to as the Corvinus Pack, the ancient book simply had a list of names and a handful of sketches, there seemed to have been only one female in the entire pack. Although references had been made to at least two other females, both were listed as deceased. Of all the deaths of the pack only the two females were confirmed, Kushina tapped her quill against her lower lip as she stared thoughtfully down at a sketch of the entire pack.

Two of the men looked very similar to one another if she had to guess she would have pegged them as related even if she didn't have their names to go by. She ran her eyes over the rest of the pack, she was somewhat amused that a dark skinned man was hovering rather protectively over a slender dark haired pale skinned man. The only woman was standing next to a man with short somewhat disheveled hair, Kushina glanced between the man next to her and the two related men, _'huh, they share some features. Although it's not as dominate in the younger man then the other two, I'd say that those two are brothers but this one is a distant cousin.'_

Thanatos spoke up quietly as if he was trying not to wake up someone, _**'you're most likely correct, My Lady. There is too much similarity between them for there to be any other reason for the resemblance.'**_

' _ **What's up with the talking quietly, Than'? 'Nubis is usually the soft spoken one of you two,'**_ Kushina murmured back mentally.

' _ **Anubis is taking a nap right now,'**_ Thanatos reluctantly muttered back to her. She snorted softly before ignoring the Zanpakuto spirit, she continued to gaze at the sketch before she nodded and started writing down the names of the pack members and what she believed that their positions in the pack were. She hesitated slightly over the three men in the center of the photo's names, she stared down at them before she nodded to herself and wrote their positions beside their names.

As she wrote down the positions she overheard one of the older students complaining that if they had known that Binns was just going to keep teaching them the same thing over and over again, he'd have dropped out of History of magic. After she had let the ink dry enough for her to roll up the assigned essay she smirked, she had an idea to get rid of Binns for good, or at the very least get everyone a new History of Magic Professor.

Her smirk deepened as she came up with an idea to escape boredom later in the year. Inside her mind Anubis woke from his nap and shuddered, Thanatos however winced and both spirits scurried off to find a good hiding spot. When their Mistress got like this both of them hid unless they knew for sure that they wouldn't be among the targets.

* * *

At the same time Kushina got her ideas Voldemort felt a prickle of fear race up his spine due to the malevolent feeling emanating through the bond formed by the blood he had stolen from Kushina to be resurrected. A shiver went down his spine as he wondered what it was that had the Potter Brat feeling so darkly gleeful about.

Unbeknownst to him or his death eaters, who were feeling the same prickle of fear, though the Death Eaters were unaware that their dark lord was afraid. Nor did Voldemort know that the fearful expression on his followers faces wasn't from him. The feeling came from two ideas that were currently taking root in Kushina's mind, one that would be implemented as soon as she could the other would wait until she was very bored to be implemented. However it was the second idea that Voldemort and his followers should fear the most as it pertained to them.

* * *

Meanwhile in a seal on a blond haired boy, a man or manlike creature with long red hair sneezed lightly. He blinked a bit before he looked around warily before he twitched the long solid red nine tails behind him nervously along with the fox ears on the top of his head. After several minutes of careful thought he relaxed with a smirk and muttered, "I wonder what has my dear former host in such a good mood…"

While in the Hokage's office, the third Hokage was sitting at his desk smoking his pipe and signing paperwork. He suddenly paused in his work and muttered, "for some reason I feel as if someone is about to regret angering someone…" He then puffed lightly on his pipe as he signed another few bundles of paper. He them muttered with a smirk, "I'm just glad it's not me!"

The ANBU in the office sweat dropped and wondered mentally whether the Hokage was all there sometimes. What with the incident the year before and now this… Yeah sometimes they questioned the sanity of their Hokage, of course they couldn't really talk, I mean the Jounin of the village acted crazy after all. Kakashi Hatake, arguably one of the best Ninja that Konoha had to offer walked around in broad daylight reading porn! And Gai Might would make challenges to himself if he failed to complete a task, not to mention his jumpsuit and his leg warmers… Yeah, they really couldn't lecture about sanity with those two shining pillars to lead as an example…

* * *

Kushina held in the cackle that threatened to escape out of her throat, she picked up her bag and other items before she made her way over to Minato's portrait and with one look at her face he let her in with out a word spoken. The students had gotten used to Kushina not even giving Minato a password, since the only password they knew was for in case of an emergency. Kushina walked over to her desk and began jotting down her idea to get rid of Binns, as well as the one that had come to her about a way to make Moldy Voldy very angry with his Death Munchers.


	11. Chapter Ten: Scheduling Checkups and a Plot to Overthow History!

**Chapter Ten:** **Scheduling Checkups and A Plot to Overthrow History!**

* * *

 

While his daughter was having her idea/epiphany James was making his way to the Infirmary. Once he got there he made his way to Madam Pomfrey's office where he knocked on the door. She looked up and said in a startled tone, "James, what are you doing in here? Are you injured?"

James shook his head and replied, "no, I'm not injured but for the sake of Moony's mental health could you make me an appointment for a full checkup?"

Madam Pomfrey blinked a bit that the odd question but pulled her schedule over to her, she then looked through it and said, "I can see you on the seventh, an hour before Miss Potter-Lupin's demonstration class. Is that alright with you?"

James sighed in relief and said, "that should be fine. Thank you, Poppy."

She frowned and asked curiously, "why did you say it was for Remus' mental health that you're getting this checkup?"

He waved his hand dismissively and said, "I haven't been feeling too good in the morning lately and he's just worried. It's probably a stomach bug even Moony agrees with me that it's nothing serious."

She raised an eyebrow and said, "then why is he making you get a checkup?"

James blinked a bit in puzzlement over her word choice before it dawned on him and he explained, "Moony as in Remus' wolf doesn't think it's serious while Remus thinks I should have a checkup."

"Ah, now that makes sense, well I've marked you down for a checkup for the seventh James. I'll see you then, until I have a chance to examine you take it easy even if it's just a stomach bug treat it as if you're pregnant." Madam Pomfrey said sternly.

James rolled his eyes at her choice of words but nodded and said, "I'll be careful. It's not like Moony or Kushina would allow me to do anything that might endanger my health, they just got me back they don't want to lose me."

Madam Pomfrey nodded at that before she shooed him out of the Infirmary and he walked back up the stairs to his and Remus' rooms.

* * *

While waiting for James to come back from talking with Poppy, Remus was reading a scroll that he had borrowed from Kushina last week.. He found it rather intriguing of course he wondered how she got it since it was from the elemental countries and she hadn't been there since her past life at least as far as he knew. He finally sighed before he stood up to go to the bathroom and take a shower. Five minutes after he had finished his shower and had put on a clean pair of boxers James came into the bedroom.

Remus took in his mates tired face and asked quietly, "so what did Poppy say?" As he asked that he crawled into the bed while watching his mate undress.

As James striped he shrugged and said, "she made me an appointment for a full checkup on the seventh. She told me that until she's sure what this it to treat it as if I'm pregnant." With that he walked into the bathroom to brush his teeth and left Remus blinking a bit in shock over the word choice . He watched from the bed as James brushed his teeth and when he exited the bathroom he extinguished the light with a quiet, "Nox."

James then crawled into the bed beside his mate and settled in under the covers before he turned onto his right side. He settled his left arm over Remus' abdomen and Remus wordlessly placed his right hand on top of James left. "I'll be fine Remus," James whispered, "I won't leave you again. You know that, so go to sleep already, I'll still be here in the morning." Although not fully reassured Remus obeyed his mate and tried to go too sleep, he knew that he always woke up before James anyway.

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Kushina awoke the next morning and stretched with a sleepy murmur before she rolled out of bed, narrowly avoiding hurting one of the chicks. She glared down at the owlet before scooping it up and placing it back with it's mother and siblings. She then made her way sleepily toward her bathroom to take a shower, she had a class at nine o'clock so it was a quick one. As she washed her hair, she debated over whether or not to have Rukia wake Ron up again.

After her shower she dried off before brushing her long red hair out, she stared into the mirror before she smiled sadly at it and summoned a clone. She then sat down on the chair in front of the mirror and stayed still as her clone brushed her hair again to make sure all the tangles were out of it before it began to put her hair up in a French braid and then into a bun. After her clone had finished its work it dispelled itself, she then took three oversized lacquered Senbon needles and placed them into her bun.

After she had gotten dressed for the day she double checked her bag to make sure she had the Monster Book of Monsters, which was secured with a leather belt. During the summer after third year Kushina had stitched a broken leather belt to the front and back covers of the book to make it easier to secure closed. She placed Quintessence: A Quest into the bag along with Guide to Advanced Transfiguration. She was thankful that on Wednesday her and Ron only had two classes, Hermione however had three classes to go to on Wednesday.

She then wrote out a note that she would have the house elves place on all of the four common room bulletin boards after dinner. She then checked her bag to make sure she had enough parchment, quills and ink for the day before she exited her room, she planned to take advantage of the forty-five minute long free period scheduled for after lunch. She wanted to test to see if the wolves would answer her call since the toads still did, if they answered her call it would make it easier to check up on Naruto beside the cheetah's and snakes.

As she exited her rooms she looked around the common room to find it completely vacant, she frowned slightly normally Hermione was in the common room reading when she came out of her rooms in the morning. She then turned back to Minato's portrait and asked, "has Hermione been out here this morning yet, Minato-Koi?"

The blond haired man looked up from his pile of paperwork and said, "yes. She said something about going to see Kenpachi and Yachiru before going to breakfast."

Kushina snorted before she muttered, "that does sound like her," she then took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. She slung her bag over the back of one of the wingback chairs near the fireplace before she walked up the stairs to the sixth year boys dorm. She entered the dorm with complete nonchalance, as she entered Dean eeped before he dived back behind his bed curtains.

Neville on the other hand completely ignored her prescence beside to say a quick, "hello Kushina," before he slipped his shirt on and buttoned it up before tying his tie. He was already dressed in his pants and shoes so he didn't feel a need to hide behind his curtains unlike Dean who had only been wearing his boxers. Seamus was in the bathroom and from what Kushina could hear was busy taking a shower and singing the Coast of the High Barbary to even know she was out in their room.

As Kushina stood over Ron's bed contemplating how best to wake him she hummed happily along to the song, she smiled a bit wickedly as she hummed to herself. As she stared down at her slumbering best friend she pondered just how to wake him, she'd already impersonated his mother and Professor McGonagall last year along with telling him that Rukia was dancing naked in the common room. And just yesterday she had Rukia wake him up…

' _ **Why don't you tell him that the next Quidditch World Cup has been canceled?'**_ Thanatos suggested deviously.

Kushina blinked a bit before she shrugged to herself and tried out his suggestion, she motioned for the other three boys to cover their ears. She then took a deep breath and yelled in a high panicked tone, "RON WAKE UP! THE NEXT QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP HAS BEEN CANCELED!"

Ron shot out of bed with a shrill scream before grabbing the person nearest to him, which happened to be Kushina, and begged, "please say it isn't so. Tell me they didn't cancel it!"

Her lips twitched with suppressed amusement before she said with a twinkle in her golden eyes, "I lied." She then beamed at her twitching friend and chirped happily, "but now that you're awake, let's go have breakfast!"

Ron glared at her while he growled before he said in a tight tone, "Kushina, you had better reach the Great Hall before I catch you!"

She gave him a rather toothy grin and said, "bye-bye, guys," with that she tore herself out of his grasp before she raced down the stairs. Karin raised her eyebrows in shock as her cousin raced down the stairs from the boys dorm before she grabbed her book bag from where she left it earlier. Kushina then grabbed Karin's bag from her hands then grasped her cousin around the waist and hefted the eleven year old into a fireman's carry. She then used shunpo to get them both down to the entrance hall, it was a good thing that the paintings had gotten used to Kushina racing through the halls using that particular method of travel.

Only two minutes after Kushina had woken Ron up she was setting Karin on the floor, reaching out to steady her younger cousin. Karin shook her head to get most of the vertigo she was experiencing out of her head before she asked, "what had you in such a hurry, Kushina?"

Kushina chuckled lightly before she sat down across from Hermione who had a ravenous Kenpachi on one side of her and a equally as ravenous Yachiru on the other. "I simply woke Ron up by a way he didn't seem to appreciate very much," Kushina finally replied after dishing herself a plate. Shortly after she explained that Ron came into the Hall grumbling about rude wake up calls and girlfriends who aren't sympathetic to their boyfriends plight, Rukia was following Ron clearly amused by his complaining.

Kushina shook her head before she thought to herself, ' _sometimes Ron really reminds me of Kurama. Kurama always grumbled whenever I woke him up from a nap to ask him if I could borrow some of his chakra…'_ She shook her head again remembering a few times that the Kyuubi was grumbling the whole way through a battle and she was actually giggling at certain points of it. She was fairly sure that most of the enemy ninja thought she was completely insane by the end of the war.

Kushina easily ignored her best friends grumbling and asked Hermione, "so what's on the agenda for today?" She had been buttering a piece of toast while she asked Hermione the question then after she finished buttering it she shoved it into Ron's mouth completely without any warning whatsoever. The red haired teen glared at her from over the piece of toast but he stopped grumbling about rude wake up calls after he took a bite of it and removed the toast from his mouth.

After almost six years of being friends the trio had struck up an odd system of communication between them that very few could decipher. If either Kushina or Hermione shoved a piece of toast into Ron's mouth during breakfast it meant, 'although cute, your grumbling is becoming annoying. Cease and desist immediately.' However if Ron or Kushina slapped their palms against the nearest solid surface seven times in quick succession it told Hermione, 'you're confusing us, speak English already!'

However if either Ron or Hermione thought that Kushina was becoming too moody or was brooding excessively then the pair would drag her to the kitchens and tell the house elves not to let her out until she's acting more like herself. If she started giggling in public while reading her orange books which had, during her fifth year, become a common sight and scaring the younger years. Ron or Hermione would slap the nearest solid surface twelve times to tell her, 'Kushina, you're scaring the younger years again, stop reading those in public!' Kushina would pout a bit for them doing that but she's stop until the younger years were no longer around.

Hermione looked up at Kushina before she reached into her book bag to grab the schedule from it, she unfolded it and said after taking a sip of her pumpkin juice, "first up is your dad for an hour and a half, Kushina. Then we have a forty five minute break, after that comes an hour and a half long block of charms with Professor Flitwick. Then we have lunch followed by a forty five minute free period with the Slytherins before heading to the last class of the day, a forty five minute long Care of Magical Creatures class. After that is dinner," she then folded the schedule back up and put it back into her bag.

Ron finished his eggs before he asked casually, "didn't Professor Potter mention something about testing the sixth years for having the potential to be an Animagus last year?"

Both Kushina and Hermione nodded before Kushina polished off her French Toast and said, "yeah, he's testing just the sixth years this year. Last year he tested both the Sixth and Seventh years since Professor McGonagall didn't bother testing anyone. Dad knew that with so many animagus on staff a few of the older years would be tempted to try to attempt the transformation."

"So what happens if someone has the potential to become an animagus?" Karin asked curiously while she finished her breakfast.

Kushina looked up at her baby cousin before she said, "they will have the option to take the training course offered or to decline to attempt it this year. However no matter which one they chose their form will be registered by a Ministry official, that way if you later become an animagus but chose not to register your form is still on file."

Hermione looked up at her and said, "that's a good idea. It'll certainly stop more people like Skeeter from doing what she did."

Kushina smirked at her and said gleefully, "that's the point!" She then drank the rest of her pumpkin juice and said, "most of the students probably won't have the ability to become an animagus anyway. Dad said that he'll ask anyone that's already an animagus to step forward and transform at the beginning of class."

With that said she stood up before she commented, "well, class should be starting in twenty minutes so we better get going." She then ruffled Karin's hair and said, "I'll see you at lunch later, sprout."

With that Kushina and the rest of the Sixth year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws made their way to the fifth floor to wait outside of the Transfiguration classroom. James Potter came up behind them and opened the door, he gestured for them to go inside before allowing the witch accompanying him to enter before him.

After the students sat down they began to pull out their book for the class, James commented as he walked up to the front, "you can put away your books and wands. You'll not be needing them for today's lesson." Although a bit startled by the order the class quickly followed it and put way their books and wands. The other Gryffindors and Ravenclaws noticed that the trio and Neville Longbottom hadn't even taken out either item.

James paced in front of the board before he said, "today you will all be tested for the potential to become an Animagus. If you test positive for the ability then your forms and the markings of the form will be recorded by this lovely lady," he gestures to the woman with dark blond hair, "Nymphadora Tonks, she's an Auror. Since the registration of Animagus is handled by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement she was asked to stop by and record your forms."

He then stood behind his desk and commented, "I'm sure you all noticed last year that four animagus' accompanied myself, Professor Lupin, Professor Snape and Sirius Black on the full moons. All four are students currently in their sixth year and are in fact in this room," with that the room broke out in murmurs and most of the students watched the trio's reactions carefully or rather their lack of a reaction. James interrupted the muttering by clearing his throat before he said, "all four have been registered with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement already so there is no need for Auror Tonks to record them."

He then looked up from where he was jotting down a few things on a piece of parchment he said, "if those four that I just spoke of please come to the front of the class room and transform… We'll get on with the rest of the lesson." With that command Hermione, Ron, Kushina and Neville walked down to the blackboard, as soon as they reached near the desk they shifted smoothly to their animal forms.

Ron was the largest of them at ten feet long although he was shorter in length than Kushina he outdid her by height he was about three feet high at the shoulder. While Kushina was the next largest at about eleven feet long and almost three feet high, Neville was the next smallest from Kushina at five feet long and three feet at the shoulder. Hermione was the smallest with a length of six feet and eight inches long with a height of two feet and seven inches, the two smaller ones vied for the rank of smallest. Neville was a golden colored wolf, or rather a light sandy brown color that was a pale cream along the throat stomach and the underside of his tail. His muzzle had splashes of the cream color and the tips of his ears, which were perked atop his head, had the same pale cream to them.

James gestured to the four animals and said, "this is an example, your animagus form doesn't have to exist as a living creature for you to gain it. However only animals that once existed can be an animagus form, no mythical creature has been used. Neville's animagus form I'm told is called a Dire Wolf, they're extinct at this time, Kushina's form is also extinct, it's known as a Giant Cheetah her coloring makes it a Kings Cheetah. Hermione's form is extremely endangered and if she transforms in the muggle world she would probably be tranquilized and relocated back to her species natural habitat. The same with Ron's animagus form, if Kushina or Neville's form were spotted and recognized for what they really are they would be considered a miracle and more than likely be tranquillized and taken to a zoo."

The class blinked in shock and James continued, "so if you don't recognize your species right off don't worry we'll find out what species you are." He motioned to his daughter and her friends to transform back into human form. He then stared at the students and said, "you'll be transformed into your animagus form however you'll not have any of the instincts of that form. This is the only time that you won't have to fight the instincts of your animagus form so don't go thinking that just because you haven't attacked any of the people around you that you won't have to control your form when you do make the final transformation."

Most of the class swallowed in fear over his serious tone and look, he rarely ever became that serious and when he did the class knew that whatever he said was the truth and nothing but the truth. Once everyone had nodded their understanding he said, "I'll call you up here one by one and cast the spell on you. I'll have a mirror placed in front of you so you can see what you look like, alright?"

Again the class nodded and waited for their names to be called, "Boot, Terry!" James called out, Terry walked up to the front of the classroom and nervously stood in front of the mirror, James had transfigured. James cast the revealing spell over him and he transformed slowly he grew in mass until he stood at thirteen feet high and James said, "you might want to drop down on all fours, Mr. Boot." Terry snorted lightly before he took the Professors advice and dropped down on all fours, he looked in the mirror to see a large bear staring back at him. It's muzzle was quite short compared to the size of its head, he looked to be about ten feet long and he was five feet and nine inches high at the shoulder.

Tonks took a picture of him from both sides as well as from the front and back, she then had him stand up on his hind legs to take a picture of his stomach. She then recorded his name and then she said, "huh, I know he's a bear but I can't figure out which one…"

"He's a Giant Short-Faced Bear, they're extinct but they were pretty common in North America until they died out. They were carnivores but not hunters they would scare predators off of a kill and take the kill for their own," Hermione explained matter-of-factly. Terry who had transformed back into human form gaped at her before he shook his head and walked back to his seat.

James then called down Mandy Brocklehurst, who didn't have the potential to be an animagus, then Michael Corner who had the animagus form of a cat, Tonks took pictures of him and then sent him back to his seat. The next person called up to the front was Seamus, who after the spell was placed on him transformed into a Giant Otter, instead of his coat being a dark brown it was a lighter sandy tone of brown.

The next person after him was Anthony Goldstein who was surprisingly and ironically a common raven. Again Tonks took pictures of him before she sent him back to his seat, the next person after him was Su Li who had the animagus form of a grey squirrel after Tonks had taken the necessary pictures she got sent back to her seat. After Su Li came Morag McDougal and Padma Patil neither of which had an animagus form.

Dean Thomas was next and he didn't expect to have an animagus form except he transformed into a large sea lion, the exact species Tonks couldn't figure out. Kushina stepped forward and looked him over before she grinned and said, "well Dean you better not go into your animagus from near Japan or you'll be knocked out and used to breed more of you." When both Tonks and Dean gave her an odd look she explained, "he's a Japanese Sea Lion, they've been extinct for years, the last one recorded was a captured juvenile in nineteen seventy four off the coast of Rebun Island."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at her and asked, "how do you know this?"

Kushina rolled her eyes and said, "Karin was on a ocean animal loving phase a few years ago. She ended up chatting peoples ears off about the extinct animals of Japans oceans, you pick these kind of things up when they're chattered to you by a family member. Hence why Ron knows so much about dragons and dragon laws, he listened to Charlie talk about them as a kid."

The last person to be tested was Lisa Turpin of Ravenclaw, she didn't have the ability nor was she unhappy that she didn't. In fact, she said, "if I did have the ability it would be a shock, my family isn't known for being animagus." She then nonchalantly walked back to her seat, James stared after her for a few minute before he turned back to his notes and marked down that she wasn't an animagus.

He then cleared his throat and said, "Sirius Black has volunteered to teach the Animagus classes. He's going to put up the times of his classes on all of the common room bulletin boards at the end of this week so for all of you interested take note of the times of his classes." At that moment the bell rung and James smiled wryly before he said, "class dismissed!"

As they exited the room Kushina clapped Dean on the shoulder and said, "don't worry Dean. I'll get you a couple of books on your animagus form and you can study them, alright?"

Dean nodded and said as they walked down the stairs, "thanks Kushina. Do you have any in the school at the moment?"

Kushina paused while walking down the steps before she nodded and said, "yeah I think I have one in my trunk. Want to go get it so you can study it?" He nodded so the two went back upstairs and waved goodbye at Ron and Hermione who were chatting to Neville and a few others. The Ravenclaws who had an animagus form headed to the library to study up on their animal forms, same Seamus he headed to the section that housed animal text books to look up Giant Otters.

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Four hours and twenty minutes after Transfiguration class let out the Gryffindors and Slytherins headed outside for their combined Care of Magical Creatures class. Of the old class only Ron, Hermione, Neville, Kushina, Daphne, Blaise and Theo were still in it. Draco had refused to go near the class after passing the OWL for it, same with Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson.

Hagrid grinned at them all and said in his booming voice, "I've got a real treat for you!" The class blinked a bit before they shrugged at each other and followed him when he motioned for them to join him in the paddock behind his hut.

Kushina gasped before she cried out happily, "Fawkes!" The red Phoenix crooned and flew over to land on her shoulder, Kushina reached up to pet the swan sized bird she said, "we're studying Phoenixes aren't we, Hagrid?"

Hagrid nodded and said, "aye. The Headmaster said that Fawkes was really fond of you, Kushina. Though he wouldn't say as to why his Phoenix was fond of you…" Hagrid shook his head and said, "Fawkes here is a Fire or Red Phoenix, he's typical of what people think of when they think phoenix. However there are five other breeds of phoenixes. Who here can tell me of them?"

Hermione raised her hand and said, "there are the Shadow or Black Phoenix. Then there is the Storm or Thunder, next is the Artic or Snow, followed by Water or Ocean Phoenixes the last is the most rare of them all the Earth or Nature Phoenix." She recited all of this in an awed tone of voice.

Hagrid nodded and said, "correct Hermione. Can anyone here tell me about those species?"

Neville raised his hand, after Hagrid nodded and gestured for him to speak, said, "no Nature Phoenix has ever been bonded to a human. They prefer the company of centaurs to humans and as such are rarely ever seen." He took a deep breath before continuing, "the areas that a Nature Phoenix live are lush areas and always have vibrant vegetation. The colors of a Nature Phoenix are dark brown, light green and dark green, their rebirth cycle has never been witnessed."

Again Hagrid nodded before he pointed at Ron who had his hand raised, Ron said, "Artic or Snow Phoenixes are very rarely seen but more common than their Nature cousins. Their rebirth cycle has been witnessed by wizards, they die in flames of the same coloring as their plumage which is pale blue, deep navy blue and white. They can disappear in a burst of snow and can survive temperatures that a human would die at, their loyalty is hard to earn but once given it will rarely break. You'd have to do something very drastic like kill a unicorn and drink it's blood to break the bond." The Slytherins gaped at that information before Hagrid called on Theodore Nott who had his hand raised.

"Shadow or Black Phoenixes are one of the more rarely seen of the phoenix breeds, it was said that Arthur Pendragon had a Shadow Phoenix bonded to him. Their loyalty never wavers no matter how bad their bonded turns their trust and affection are so difficult to earn that the few who do earn it will have it until the day they die. They have the ability to disappear and reappear anywhere there are shadows. Myth says that the Phoenix bonded to Arthur roosts near his grave and scares away all those who would disturb it's friends eternal sleep." Theo barely breathed during his explanation and most of those in the class raised an eyebrow at the information that he gave them.

Blaise raised his hand and when Hagrid gestured for him to speak said, "the Storm or Thunder phoenix. They're most well known for the eyes on the ends of their tail feathers that match the look of the male peacocks. Their coloration is deep gray, bright yellow and dark purple, they have the ability to summon lightning and thunderstorms as well as the ability to teleport in a flash of lightning. They are only slightly less reclusive than their Artic or Shadow cousins, only two known bondings have happened between a human and a Storm Phoenix. One was by an ancient wizard who went by the name of Ba'al and the second was a Greek wizard by the name of Zeus."

Hermione raised her eyebrow at him before she said quietly, "I didn't know that."

Kushina laughed and said, "congratulation Blaise. You knew something that Hermione was completely unaware of." She then raised her own hand and Hagrid motioned for her to proceed. The other students thought she would lecture on the Fire or Red Phoenix however she said, "the Water or Ocean Phoenix is extremely elusive and has in only one instance has one bonded to a human. A pirate by the last name of Sparrow had gained the trust and affection of a Ocean Phoenix, legend has that the pirate later became a privateer for England. Ocean Phoenixes can make an air bubble around themselves when they dive underwater. They often bond themselves to merpeople, at least after the fall of Atlantis, it was said they mostly stay around the area above where Atlantis now rests." She shrugged at the gaping stares of her fellow students and petted Fawkes feathers along his back.

Hermione raised her hand and asked, "Kushina, how do you know about the Ocean Phoenix bonding to a pirate anyway?"

Kushina laughed and said, "because in historical texts and pictures the bird seen with him has the exact same plumage coloration as an Ocean phoenix. That and the Headmaster portraits from his time remember when he came to visit Hogwarts after years away, he brought the bird with him. When asked about where he found it he'd only say that he was in the middle of the ocean when it came swimming along beside him. The Ocean Phoenix has pale cream, sea blue and a deep midnight blue feathers, legend has that Pirate turned privateer for his lover. When asked about what his lover looked like he merely said that his lover had pale cream colored skin, hair the color of chocolate and eyes the color of the sea."

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After dinner several students noticed a new paper on the bulletin board of their common room and one of each house read it aloud. Draco read the one in Slytherin off to those that were listening,

" _ **To all members of the houses of Hogwarts,**_

_**If you are interested in getting rid of Professor Binns please meet in the Room of Requirement after dinner on Wednesday September the fourth to discuss this urgent matter. Although the solution will require that we make sacrifices the potential to get rid of a mediocre teacher is the best thing we can do for the future students of Hogwarts!** _

_**Sincerely,** _

_**Kushina Ruri Potter-Lupin** _

_**Head of House Noir** _

_**Scion of House Potter and Lupin** _

_**Head of House Gryffindor** _

_**Head of House Slytherin"** _

The few students who weren't against the Dark Lord weren't in the common room and thus didn't hear Kushina's titles, not that the Dark Lord or his followers would believe that she was Slytherin's heir anyway.

* * *

Meanwhile in Hufflepuff's common room, Susan Bones just got finished reading the same missive and snickered before she said, "I wonder how the Slytherins are taking that." As she spoke she'd pointed at the last title on the list below Kushina's name.

* * *

The same scene repeated in Ravenclaw save it was Luna who read it aloud and she murmured, "aneki does have quite the sense of humor, doesn't she?" With that said she walked up the stairs to the fifth year girls dorm and went to bed.

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During the next Transfiguration class James had them read about human transfigurations and the consequences of miscasting the spells. After forty-five minutes of the class reading their books he dismissed them with, "I want an essay of mistakes that you can make and solutions regarding human transfiguration. I want it handed in by next Tuesday." The class murmured their acknowledgement before they left the classroom, students who were still taking Ancient Runes had a forty-five minute break but those who weren't had an hour and a half long break.

Kushina waved goodbye at Hermione who was heading to the library for some last minute studying for her class and Ron who was wandering off to practice a couple of moves on the Pitch. She headed up the stairs to the seventh floor and the Room of Requirement. She paced in front of the Troll tapestry and thought as she paced, ' _I need a clearing in the woods. I need a clearing in the woods, I need a clearing in the woods.'_ When she finally stopped there was a door in front of her and she opened it to find a large clearing in the middle of a large forest, she hummed, it resembled the forests surrounding Konoha.

She cut a small slice in the palm of her hand before she lifted up her shirt and held her hand against her side. As she held it against her side she sent a pulse of Chakra through her palm, with a puff of smoke a large wolf appeared in front of her. It blinked a bit before it looked around and saw her standing behind it. It yelped and cried out, "Lady Kushina! It has been a long time since I've been summoned by you."

She chuckled at the pitch black wolf with large golden eyes, she ruffled the fur on his neck before she said, "it's good to see you too, Tyr. Can you call the others? I want to talk to you all about something." He blinked a bit but nodded before he called the rest of the pack through the bond they shared.

With soft puffs of smoke nine more wolves joined the pair in the clearing, some were grey others were a dark brown, there was a single pure white wolf off to the side of her. She smiled down at it and said, "hello Gunner." The white wolf bumped it head against her leg before walking over to Tyr and rubbing up against him in greeting.

The pack surrounded her and one of the grey wolves asked, "Lady Kushina, why has it been so long since you called us?" He cocked his head to the side curiously before he queried, "and why are your eyes gold instead of grey?"

She sighed and said quietly, "that's what I need to talk to you about." She gestured for them to settle in before she said, "eleven years ago, I was pregnant with a son. As I'm sure you all remember," she raised an eyebrow at them enquiringly. They all nodded so she continued, "the night that I gave birth, Kurama had sworn not to try to get out of his seal. However somehow the seal broke, I survived his release, however he headed straight for Konoha, he was attacking it in a blind rage as if something outside of himself was controlling him…" She shook her head at the memory of Kurama attacking her home.

"The man who broke the seal called himself Tobi, I don't know his real name but… If I ever see that bastard again I'm going to tear him to shreds!" She growled fiercely, the wolves winced they knew just how vicious their only female summoner could be. She huffed slightly before she continued, "Minato didn't want to put the Kyuubi back into me since the seal he was going to perform would take his life as payment. I kept insisting on it but… Tobi must have realized our plan and commanded the Kyuubi to attack our son, who Minato was planning to use as the next vessel to hold Kurama. Both of us threw ourselves in front of him, I sustained mortal injuries, I then used my Chakra ropes to hold Kurama down while Minato sealed him within our son."

The wolves were a bit puzzled, how could she speak of having life threatening injuries yet still be in front of them. Kushina closed her eyes before she continued, "Minato's last wish was that our son be treated as a hero. I can only hope that his wish was followed. After the two of us died we appeared before the Shinigami King, he did something to throw our souls far into the past and we reappeared in front of his younger self. Minato's memories were suppressed and he was sent on to Soul Society while I was kept by the King's side as part of his guard." She quirked her lips in bemusement before she commented ironically, "five years before my son was born I was reborn as Kushina Ruri Potter-Lupin. Shortly after my son was born I remembered my life as Kushina Uzumaki." She huffed a laugh before she said, "how's that for irony?"

The wolves around her blinked in shock but they could smell no deceit upon her, she was telling the truth as far as she knew it. She continued to speak by saying, "I've been checking up on Naruto since last year. I've put a seal for the cheetah's on him while Manda allowed him to sign the serpent contract. I had promised Minato before our son was born that Naruto would be able to sign the Toad summoning contract or I would have let him sign the cheetah contract as well…" She pouted slightly at that but the wolves chuffed out a laugh at her face.

One of the brown wolves cocked his head curiously before he asked, "out of curiosity… What made you decide to summon us?"

She laughed and said, "I summoned the Toads just two days ago and I figured that if I could summon them, then I should be able to summon you. This was merely the first chance I had gotten to summon you guys."

"Oh…" the small wolf muttered before he plopped back down on the ground to stare at her.

She sighed and said sternly, "I want you all to promise me that if someone finds your scroll and summons you that you won't say a word about me and Minato's reincarnation. If I'm lucky, I'll be revealing it myself in a year or so, anyway."

Reluctantly the ten wolves promised her that they wouldn't tell, "even if Sakumo himself summons us we won't tell." Loki joked, Kushina gave the largish grey wolf a baleful look at that remark. She snorted before she dismissed them and headed down to Lunch then she would come back up to the Room of Requirement for a promised spar with Kenpachi.

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After dinner Kushina headed up to the Room of Requirement to wait for the people from all four houses to show up. She waited until everyone was there to change the room to a military briefing room she gestured for everyone to take a seat. After everyone was seated she cleared her throat and said, while mimicking a young boy she had heard speaking in Konoha once, "we are gathered here for a most invigorating endeavor! We have come together to hopefully to rid the school of the most boring teacher to have ever bored students in the history of Hogwarts!"

She stared down at the disbelieving faces in the room and said, "I know this for a fact because I asked the portraits, until Binns began teaching most people found History of Magic to be interesting." Most of the students shook their heads in disbelief but knew that Kushina wouldn't say it unless she could back it up.

She then took a deep breath before she let it out slowly and asked, "how many of you have spoken with Belinda about the way Hogwarts and the magical world was in the past?"

Most of the room put up their hands in response to her question, she nodded in satisfaction before she turned to the older students. She stared at them as she asked, "if she had been the one to teach History of Magic would you have paid more attention in class?" To no surprise to her the answer was a unanimous affirmative from the older years and even some of the younger years.

She grinned toothily at them before she said with a faint purr to her voice, "I have a plan to take care of Binns once and for all."

Hermione was standing off to the side and asked, "and just what does this plan consist of? If it's pranking him, good luck, he doesn't notice anything, take our second year for example."

Kushina laughed and said, "it was our second year that gave me an idea. Hermione, he called you Miss Grant after you had told him your name was Miss Granger. He's not paying attention to what student he's talking to anymore, a teacher should be able to recognize his student so he can take or award points. Binns has never paid any attention to such matter in all of the history of him teaching, I checked the point logs, he has never awarded nor taken any points."

"So what's the plan?" Ron spoke up from beside Hermione but in front of his sister.

Kushina smirked and said, "we make it to where even the board of Governors have to sack him. It'll require some sacrifice on our part," she gestured to those no longer taking History of Magic, "but I think it'll be well worth the effort."

Neville frown before he asked, "what kind of a sacrifice?"

Kushina's gold eyes gleamed as she said, "we switch out who's attending his class that day, we use dictation quills to mark down his lectures. We ask questions during class, making sure that the quill records him asking for your name then interrupt again later and see if he gets your name right. After two months of that we'll take copies of our evidence to the Headmaster along with a petition formed by the students and signed by everyone involved as well as those not involved. With both the evidence and the petition in hand he should change teachers, we can have who we want as a teacher in the petition, I suggest Belinda since she lived through most of it anyway." As she spoke she gestured passionately about her and when she ended she gave them all a hopeful glance.

As one the students stood up and cheered, she grinned playfully at them before she commented, "if the Headmaster doesn't acquiesce to our demand then we'll take it to the board of Governors."

She then looked around at the group before she asked, "does this sound agreeable to all of you?" She received affirmatives from all the student and she grinned before she said, "then everyone except those interested in playing a practical joke on the teachers may leave. All those interested please stay," at that announcement everyone stayed in their seats including Hermione who normally didn't approve of pranking.

Kushina grinned at the way everyone seemed interested and said, "I had the idea of pranking without using any spells. I'm sure you all know the Tarantallegra curse…" she paused until everyone had nodded or given some form of acknowledgement to her statement, a few older years had to explain the curse to the second and first years. She then smirked and said, "well we won't be under a spell or potion but we will be dancing, if you can't dance that's fine. Most of the dances and songs I've chosen are rather simple to do, so you shouldn't have too much trouble learning them. Yes, Hermione?"

Hermione lowered her hand and asked with a raised eyebrow, "what are the dances that you've chosen?"

Kushina laughed and said, "I should've known you'd be the one to ask that! One is a line dance called the Conga, the second is the Macarena, one is a one hit wonder from the eighties in America, the song is called Walk Like an Egyptian. The last is from The Village People and is called the Y.M.C.A."

She looked around the room to see the muggleborn and muggle-raised staring at her in bemusement she smiled smugly back before she said, "I need five volunteers for the Y.M.C.A. Dance, we need an Indian, in other words only those with a slightly dark complexion, a Fireman, a Cowboy, a Construction Worker and a Policeman, to those of you who are wizard raised, a Policeman is similar to an Auror."

Blaise sighed briefly before he put his hand up and said, "I'll play the Indian," Kushina looked the Italian boy over studying his skin color before she nodded in satisfaction.

Hannah Abbott shoved Neville lightly and he sighed before he said, "I'll play the Fireman." Kushina snickered lightly over the way Neville's girlfriend can manipulate him with just a look.

Shortly after Neville was volunteered by his girlfriend Theodore stepped forward and said, "I'll play the Cowboy." Shortly after that Dean got shoved forward by Seamus who volunteered him to play the Construction worker, however no one stepped forward to play the policeman.

Kushina thought for several minutes before she grinned deviously and said, "I've got the perfect person to play the cop, I just need to convince him about it."

Hermione laughed lightly before she asked, "so when are we playing this prank?"

Kushina smiled at her friend before she said cheerfully, "after we have gathered the evidence on Binns but before we get him sacked. That'll give everyone two months to practice the dances." She then clapped her hands together and said, "meeting adjourned!"


	12. Chapter Eleven: A Surprise for Mooney

**Chapter Eleven:** **A Surprise for Moony**

* * *

 

The next two days flew by quickly and before James had realized it the day of his appointment was upon him. He yawned as he made his way down to the ground floor and then to the infirmary, as he entered he noticed that Isshin was nowhere to be seen. Madam Pomfrey poked her head out of her office and said, "hello, James. Here for your check up?"

He nodded and hopped up onto one of the beds near her office before he said, "yeah. Lets figure out what's wrong with me." She snorted before getting out his file and putting it on a clipboard, Lily had introduced the muggle concept to her in her fifth year.

Madam Pomfrey smiled at the yawning man before she said, "can you stand up? I need to take your height and weight down to compare it to last years check up." He nodded and stood up, she then pointed her wand at him and said, "Invenire Pondus." As she cast the spell a light hit James then bounced back to the wand where it wrote out letters and numbers, she then jotted down the numbers.

She hummed and said, "well at least you're a bit heavier than last year. Even if you have be tossing your biscuits." He snorted at the bad joke before she turned back to him and cast a second spell, "Invenire Altitudinem." Again the light shot out and hit James before bouncing back to Madam Pomfrey's wand and spelling out numbers.

She looked over the two notations before she commented, "well thankfully your height hasn't changed. although I would have been surprised if it had."

James chuckled before he said, "so would have I."

Madam Pomfrey then pointed her wand at his wrist and said, "Invenire Pulsus," again a light hit James and bounced back to reveal a set of numbers. She then cast a second charm and it to revealed a set of numbers to her. She quietly said, "well, your heart rate is good and so is your blood pressure."

She looked up at him and said cheerfully, "alright lets get the mild diagnostic charms out of the way then if nothing come up on it we'll do a deeper scan. Okay?"

James nodded before he said, "sure thing Poppy."

She then pointed her wand at him before she said, "Invenire Infirmate!" The spell hit James in the chest before bouncing back to Poppy's wand and she placed the wand against a blank piece of parchment. She then looked the parchment over and frowned, "test is negative. No illnesses or sickness found… Alright lets do the deeper scan." She then pointed her wand back at James before moving the tip in a figure eight motion as she said, "Invenire Altum Infirmate!"

The light shot at James and hit his chest before disappearing inside him and after several moments it reappeared to shoot back at Poppy's wand. She again placed the wands tip to a blank piece of parchment before she read it, she shook her head and said confusedly, "I don't get this. You don't have the flu, stomach or otherwise. The scan has picked up on nothing that could cause you to have these symptoms…" She paused a bit as a sudden thought hit her and she turned back to James.

James raised an eyebrow at her, she sighed and said, "there is just one more test I need to run before making my diagnosis."

He nodded and said, "okay. If you can figure it out I'll be happy, after all being sick in the morning, afternoon and evening is not fun."

Poppy laughed and said, "no I imagine it wouldn't be. Lie back on the bed, for this test the patient must be lying prone." He shrugged but obeyed and laid down on the bed, she then stood beside him and pointed her wand at his abdomen. As she moved the wands tip in a slow figure eight she cast the spell silently so as to not alert James to her suspicions about his symptoms. A light shot out from her wand and went into his abdominal cavity, she said, "if the test is positive the light that emerges from my wand will be purple if it's negative then the light will be red."

Shortly after she said that the beam of light came back from James abdomen and hit her wand before making the wand glow a deep purple. She stared down at her wand before she made a mark in James file and said, "I had been somewhat hoping that the test was positive otherwise I would have no clue what had been causing your symptoms."

James sat back up before he asked, "what was that test for?"

As she made more notations in his file she said casually, "I really suppose congratulations are in order for you and Remus."

James stared at her puzzled before he asked, "why would you need to congratulate us?"

She looked up at him with a wry smile and said, "well to put it bluntly… Congratulations James, you're pregnant. Again." James stared at her before his eyes rolled into his head and he fainted. She blinked a bit before she muttered, "I wasn't expecting that response." She then bustled off to get the smelling salts before waving them under his nose.

When he woke up from his fainting spell he looked up at her and asked, "did you say I was pregnant?" She nodded and he swore lightly before he sat back up and said, "well at least that explains why Moony wasn't the slightest bit worried about my being sick. He could probably smell the child as soon as it was conceived."

Poppy frowned at the swearing before she asked, "James are you not happy that you're going to have another child?"

He shook his head and said, "of course I'm happy. It's just that recently Remus made a remark that I think is going to come back to haunt us." With that he patted her on the shoulder and said, "thanks Poppy. I don't suppose I could get some anti-nausea potion from you until my morning sickness goes away?"

She nodded and said, "of course. You know it's a good thing that you're not allergic to any of the ingredients unlike poor Sirius who had to tough out his morning sickness." She went into her office and grabbed a vial of the potion before she handed it to him, he tossed it back like a shot of whiskey before he grimaced at the taste.

She then handed him a glass of water to wash the taste out of his mouth with, he commented after he finished the glass, "you know we're lucky that it wasn't Lily pregnant or we'd have to find someone to be her assistant."

She nodded wryly before she asked, "do you have any idea of when you could have conceived?"

He shook his head and said, "not a clue, Remus and I were using contraceptive charms especially after how we got Kushina because we forgot. Why did you want to know?"

She sighed before she smiled at him and said, "I was merely trying to avoid having to cast another spell. Now stand still and let me cast this," James stood still as she pointed her wand at him and murmured a spell too low for him to hear. The light shot out to his lower abdomen and bounced back to her wand before she placed the wand tip against the parchment. She looked it over and said, "well it seems that you conceived in July, late in July would be my guess. You're about a month and a half or so along, you'll be having morning sickness for a while yet unless you get lucky. I'll have the house elves take you a vial every morning. Okay?"

"Okay, I'll make sure to take it." James said before he sighed and muttered, "I guess I better go break the news to Remus. Right?"

She laughed before she shooed him out of the infirmary with a retort of, "go tell your husband that he's going to be a father again!"

He waved jauntily back as he strolled away to the Great Hall to have breakfast, however right before he entered the Hall he put an angry and annoyed look on his face before he opened the doors with a bang. The students nearest to the door jumped and the paintings looked a bit startled, every student above fourth year that was currently in the Great Hall gulped at the look on their normally cheerful Transfiguration Professor. The black haired man stalked up to the Staff table and hit Remus upside the head.

Remus looked up at his mate in shock before he asked with a slight whine to his voice, "what was that for?"

James glowered down at the brown haired man and said, "that was for jinxing us on Monday." At Remus confused look he elaborated, "congratulations Papa, you're going to be a father again."

Remus fainted while Lily, Severus and Sirius laughed before Sirius said, "wow. Who'd of thought that you'd be having another kid when your oldest is sixteen."

James rolled his eyes at his mates dramatics before he replied to Sirius, "certainly not me that's for sure. Of course it you'd have told me back when I was sixteen that I would have a daughter who acted just like her father the school would have been in shock. I really hope that what Remus said won't come back to haunt us…"

Sirius winced before he muttered, "yeah, we were bad but imagine have the children of three Marauders in the school…" The entire staff table shuddered at the thought, Kushina walked into the Great Hall in time to see all of the staff except for her Papa shudder and saw her Papa lying on the floor unconscious.

She then walked up to the Staff table and asked curiously, "Dad, what's going on? Why is Papa on the floor unconscious?"

James looked up at his daughter before he ruffled her blood red hair and said, "your Papa is unconscious because I surprised him with a bit of news he wasn't expecting to get for a while."

Kushina raised an eyebrow at her dad before she asked sardonically, "oh and what news was this?"

James chuckled before he said cheerfully to his daughter, "congratulations Kushina, you're going to be a big sister!"

Kushina blinked for a bit in shock before she grinned happily and pumped her fist in the air before she cried out, "YES!"

The entire hall blinked at her rather enthusiastic response before Kushina latched onto her dad and asked, "how far along are you? Do you know if it's a boy or a girl? Are you feeling alright? Do you need me to make you something to eat? Are you getting any cravings for something?"

James finally put his hand over her mouth at the last question and said, "whoa, slow down there, baby."

"Sorry," she mumbled from behind his hand.

James laughed before he started answering her questions while still keeping his hand over her mouth, "I'm about two months along as far as Poppy can figure. No I don't know what gender the child is, it's too soon to be able to tell. I'm feeling fine now that Poppy has given me an anti-nausea potion. No I don't need you to make me anything to eat, the house elves are doing a good job so far. And no, I'm not getting any cravings yet, but as soon as I do I'll let you know. Okay?" With that he removed his hand from over her mouth to allow her to talk.

"Okay, Dad," with that she hugged him and walked back down to the Gryffindor Table, she sat down next to Tetsuzaemon who was right next to Ginny. She quickly pulled the Lieutenant into a discussion that no one except those nearest to them could hear.

James poked Remus in the side and said, "Remus wake up it wasn't that shocking of news. Hell our daughter took it a lot better than you did." Remus sat up dazedly before he simply stared at James abdomen and put his hand on it lightly, James looked down at the still dazed werewolf. He then up at the red haired witch nearby before he commented to her, "I guess he's not unhappy to be a father again."

Lily laughed and said, "well it looks like he's happy to me."

* * *

Shunsui appeared from out of the Senkaimon and nodded a greeting to Tessai before he cheerfully said, "your wife told me to tell you that if you don't come visit her soon she'd going to come to you instead." The large man paled and gulped, when his wife said to do something everyone even the Head-Captain obeyed her. With that somewhat terrifying message, or at least slightly terrifying message to Tessai after all making your wife mad at you is a bad idea, Shunsui got into his gigai and headed over to the apartment that was set up for Renji and Ulquiorra.

It had taken much convincing from Tessai and Kisuke to get Shunsui to not take a copy of the furisode kimono that was usually draped over his shoulders. His gigai was clothed in a brilliant sapphire blue dress shirt made of silk, he had promptly undone the collar button and the first two buttons. The shirt was tucked into a pair of black silk pants, he had pouted at the thought of wearing socks and dress shoes but put them on without complaint as it would look odd for a man to wear sandals with a dressy outfit.

The Soul Society had placed Renji and Ulquiorra near Uryu's apartment so that during the first few months of them being parole officers Renji could keep an eye on both Arrancar. He walked up to the door and knocked on it, he then hummed as he waited for one of the pair to answer the door, he could feel both of their spiritual pressure inside. After a few seconds he felt one of them approaching the door, by the feel of the pressure it was the green eyed Arrancar. When Ulquiorra opened the door he was wearing a pair of stonewashed blue jeans and a bright green shirt that had 'I'm going to my happy place, be back soon,' written on it.

He chuckled lightly before he queried, "you got that as a present from Kushina didn't you?"

Ulquiorra nodded while he sighed and said, "yes, for some reason Renji seems to find the writing on it quite amusing." With that he turned and led Shunsui further into the apartment after closing the door. He led him to the kitchen where Renji was glaring at a box and muttering incoherently about something. Ulquiorra smirked before he asked in an almost deadpan tone except for the slightly teasing lilt to it, "having trouble Renji?"

The red haired man glared over his shoulder at the short Arrancar before he muttered, "I can't make heads or tails of these directions…" Shunsui watched in amusement as the smaller male hip checked Renji out of the way before grabbing the box and Renji pouted down at the green eyed hollow as he easily fixed Renji's mistake.

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An hour later Shunsui was waiting outside of Ichigo and his friends school for Uryu and Chad to come out of the building, Uryu because he had to check up on how the blue haired hollow and his keeper were getting along. He was waiting for Chad so he could talk to him, as he stood waiting for the school to let out the teenagers that it contained he reminisced about how the decision he made shortly after Kushina's visit to her cousin last year affected the Seireitei.

He smirked to himself as he remembered the looks of utter shock and surprise on Shinji, Hiyori, Mashiro and Lisa's faces the first time they went drinking together and he didn't flirt with a waitress. All of the members of his division along with members of other divisions gaped at the Captain in shock, Shunsui Kyoraku…not flirting, unthinkable and yet it had just happened in front of them. The four Visoreds present dragged the protesting captain all the way to the fourth and asked Captain Unohana to verify that he wasn't sick. The whole time they had dragged him there he had been loudly protesting that he was fine, after a few tests Retsu Unohana confirmed his words, "he's completely fine. He's not sick, he's not under any type of compulsions or any such nonsense."

Shunsui got up from where he had been sitting on the bed and asked, "why did you think I was sick anyway?" The two blond Visoreds gaped at him in shock, his former lieutenant and her lover weren't much better than the married couple.

Hiyori pointed at him and shrieked shrilly, "you didn't flirt wit her and you aren't sick! What the hell is going on? You've never missed the opportunity to flirt with a beautiful woman in the entire time I've known you!"

At that Retsu blinked in shock as she thought to herself dazedly, ' _Shunsui Kyoraku, not taking the opportunity to flirt… is the world ending?'_ She shook her head to clear that oddball thought from her mind as she watched as her sempai gaped at them in shock.

"Let me get this straight, you thought I was sick because I didn't flirt with someone?" He asked in a disbelieving tone, the four nodded their heads dazedly, he then scowled at them and said, "you always complain about my constant flirting. And yet the moment I don't flirt you think I'm sick. There is no pleasing you people!"

With that said he turned around and stalked off with a huff back to his division and office. Once he got there he threw himself onto his couch while grumbling about how if people overreacted if you change your routine in the slightest degree. Nanao looked up briefly from the stack of paperwork she was filling out and asked, "something the matter, Captain?"

He looked over at her and pouted before he said, "I just got dragged by Hiyori, Shinji, Lisa and Mashiro to the fourth division so Retsu-Chan could run tests on me!"

She blinked a bit in puzzlement before she frowned and asked as she stamped a requisition form, "why did they do that? As far as I recall you have already had your routine examination, all tests came back that you were perfectly healthy."

He snorted before he sat up and said wryly, "well I guess they didn't get the memo." he then looked over at her and asked hesitantly, "do you remember how Kushina came to the Seireitei a few days ago?"

Nanao thought back and recalled how Kushina had told her that she had given her Captain a kick in the pants about something at the time she assumed that she had gotten him to do his paper work. However her captain didn't seem to be talking about that but she nodded in reply anyways.

He sighed and stood up from the couch before he began pacing while speaking, "well during her visit I asked her for advice to a problem I was having…" As he spoke he glanced at his lieutenant and saw her completing the stack of paperwork he had left for her to do if she had to return to the Seireitei for a debriefing concerning her latest assignment. The Head-Captain had asked her to return yesterday to answer a few questions he had concerning how the Arrancar were behaving in the world of the living.

"What dilemma was that, Captain," asked Nanao as she placed the completed files into the outgoing box on his desk, which might as well be called hers since she used it more often than he did.

Shunsui rubbed the back of his head sheepishly although she couldn't see it, instead she heard him sigh before he said something that completely shocked her. "I'm in love with someone and I didn't know how to make them realize I was completely serious about them and quite possibly completely committed to them. I was trying to figure out a way to not only tell them I was interested but also let them know I wasn't ever going to change my mind about them or get bored with them."

She gaped at her captain for several moments before she gathered her wits about her and asked, "so what was Kushina's advice?"

He looked up at her and said, "she told me that if I wanted to let the person I liked know that I was utterly serious about this and them, than I should court them." He paused for a moment before he sighed and said, "she also suggested that if I absolutely couldn't completely give up flirting then I was to save all of my flirting for my love interest. She said that if they saw me flirting with someone they might believe that I was getting bored with them."

Nanao began gaping at him again when he said, "so I'm no longer flirting with anyone but the person I'm going to be courting. I've asked Byakuya and Ichigo to play as our go-between for now," he added absently.

He then snickered lightly before he said, "that's why those four dragged me to see Retsu. Since I didn't flirt with a pretty woman I had to be sick, you know it's kind of funny, everyone gets onto me for flirting yet the moment I stop I must be sick."

Nanao laughed lightly before she gently pointed out to him, "well you do…did, flirt a lot."

Shunsui pouted and muttered, "that's only because I had no one to be serious about. Now I do," he then pulled his sakkat down over his eyes as he muttered that. Nanao couldn't help how her lips twitched up into a smile at her captains antics, oh most of the time she hated how he acted but that was just Shunsui for you.

Shunsui shook his head as he remembered the look on everyone's faces when they had seen the memo he sent out at the advice of his lieutenant a few days after she had left back to the living world. He could recall the memo word for word he had written:

_To whom it may concern,_

_I, Shunsui Kyoraku, will no longer be flirting with anyone except for one person, this is due to the fact that I am currently courting someone. Should this courtship be successful, than you will no longer see me flirting with anyone except for my spouse. In other words… Get used to it already!_

_Yours sincerely,_

_Shunsui Kyoraku_

_Captain of the Eighth division of the Gotei thirteen_

His entire division had gone into shock and had the collective thought of, ' _Captain Kyoraku…is settling down! What's next him declaring that he'll never touch another drop of sake again?'_

He chuckled lightly as he remembered the looks of wide eyed astonishment that followed him for months afterward. He had fended off several women who had either asked him on a date or asked him what a handsome man was doing outside the school. A few asked for his phone number or tried to give him theirs, so they could call him or he call them. He had politely but firmly told them, "although you are quite lovely, I'm currently dating someone and I have no interest in dating anyone else. Thank you for the offer but I'm quite happy in my current relationship."

Meanwhile in Ichigo's home room, Uryu and Ichigo had been silently teasing Chad about his boyfriend for several minutes. However one of the girls sitting next to the windows squealed quietly, "oh my god. Who is that gorgeous hunk of a man!" She pointed down to the schools courtyard at the tree area where most students took their lunch breaks.

Ichigo being the one of the three nearest to the windows glanced out the window and gaped in shock, he then glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention to him. He then signed to both Chad and Uryu using the hand signs that Kushina had taught him and his two sisters shortly after she remembered them, he signed, 'it's Shunsui!'

Chad then frowned at the girls who were sighing over how handsome the mysterious man was, while he was doing that Uryu and Ichigo were using the hand signs to communicate. Kushina had taught Ichigo, Karin and Yazu all of the signs but had only taught the basics to Chad, Orihime, Uryu and Tatsuki. So when Ichigo had signed that the person below was Shunsui he actually signed, 'it is the captain of the eighth squad' which for the three involved could only mean Shunsui Kyoraku.

Shunsui was leaning against one of the trees while he was waiting for them to get out of school, while he was waiting Ichigo's hollow felt his Reiatsu and got curious enough to come out from his inner world. He popped up behind Ichigo suddenly and asked quietly in his Kings ear, "what is he doing here?" Ichigo jumped and scowled before he mentally sent back, ' _ **I don't know. Why don't you go ask him,'**_ he had said the last bit sarcastically but either the hollow couldn't tell the difference or more likely just ignored that it was sarcastically said.

Ichigo, Chad and Uryu watched in shock as the hollow easily made his way through the classroom over to the windows before he leapt out the open window. He then sped across the grounds and stopped next to Shunsui clearly asking the tall captain a few questions. It appeared that Shunsui was giving him short answers as the hollow frowned and made his way back to the building. He then leapt up to the window he had dived from and climbed back inside before he draped himself along Ichigo's back and said, "he wouldn't tell me! He said I'd find out as soon as you did, how much longer is it going to be before this this over with?"

Uryu glanced down at his watch before he commented quietly, "not too much longer now." Chad glanced down at his own watch before he nodded in agreement with Uryu's statement. None of the other students except Tatsuki and Keigo could see the hollow, however out of the two only Tatsuki had asked Ichigo and the others about him. Keigo was in denial, after all if he didn't say anything about it then he clearly couldn't see it, but he did listen in to the others explanations and later Tatsuki showed him pictures of those that were safe or rather relatively safe to be around.

Tatsuki ignored Ichigo's inner hollow with the ease of long practice, shortly after the first time it had showed itself outside of Ichigo she had confronted and asked Ichigo and the others about him. When she asked that Ichigo had stared at her in shock before he asked her, "you can see him?"

She raised her eyebrow at him and asked, "is there a reason I shouldn't be able to?"

Much to her shock all four teens had chorused, "YES!"

At her shocked and puzzled look Uryu explained, "only those with a high concentration of Reiatsu would be able to see him. I suppose your early childhood exposure to Ichigo's Reiatsu was enough to jumpstart your own into higher gear… After all both Chad and Orihime's did the same after relatively little exposure to it…"

Orihime sighed but rapidly explained hollows and shinigami to the puzzled martial artist. Tatsuki blinked and said, "okay so it's the job of the shinigami to deal with hollows right?" At everyone's nods she then pointed at Ichigo and said, "he is a substitute shinigami right?" Again they nodded and she muttered, "okay that's a little odd but I can live with it. So what do I do if I feel something like him?" She asked while pointing at the lounging hollow who was basking a bit in the sun.

Orihime sighed and said, "it all depends if it's a Visored you won't need to run, if it's one of six Arrancar you won't need to run either. On the other if it's not then you need to run as fast and as far away as you can and drag anyone that is there with you when you run."

Tatsuki stared at her red haired friend before she asked, "Visored? Arrancar? What in the world are those?"

"Perhaps we should merely have her meet them, after all if she can see them she would be able to get a hold of them even if they are out of their Gigai." Chad suggested quietly.

Tatsuki had been taught the hand signs at the same time as the Kurosaki siblings and could read them like a book. So she knew exactly what Chad, Uryu and Ichigo had been talking about the whole time they were speaking silently. She shook her head as the memory of the day she met the Visored and the Arrancar came to her mind. She had asked, "is there anyone who feels like him," she had jerked her finger towards the hollow at that, "who I don't have to run away from if I feel them?"

Ichigo had laughed before he said, "yeah, I'll take you to meet them." Three days after that conversation she had been introduced to both the Visoreds and the Arrancar, she had surprisingly gotten along well with Grimmjow and Ulquiorra. She had been deeply amused by how smitten the blue haired Arrancar was with the Quincy archer.

After the school bell rung to let the students go after a long day, the four left their homeroom behind after they had packed their things back into their bags. Tatsuki followed the three boys downstairs, they all then headed out to the courtyard. They overheard Shunsui telling a few girls after they had asked him what a good looking guy was doing alone. "I'm waiting for someone," was Shunsui's polite answer.

Shunsui then looked up and smiled lightly before he said, "and I do believe I just spotted them. So if you young ladies would please excuse me…" He then weaved his way through the crowd in order to walk over to Ichigo, Chad, Uryu and Tatsuki. The girls he had left behind scowled at Tatsuki thinking that he meant her when he said he had been waiting for someone.

He had nodded at Ichigo and said while handing over an envelope to him, "Byakuya asked that I give that to you. He said that you need to read it as soon as possible."

He then turned to Tatsuki and handed her an envelope as well before he said, "that is from Orihime-Chan."

She gave him a soft smile before she said, "thank you Kyoraku-San." She then began to open the letter and read it.

Shunsui then looked at Uryu and said, "I'll be by later on to check to see how well your kitty is doing with his socialization training."

Uryu nodded as he pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose before he said, "of course. Although considering he is a former stray he is rather remarkably well behaved."

Shunsui chuckled before he nodded in agreement and said, "Renji has had the same thing happen to him with his bat. He's constantly surprised by that little creature and when you consider who their former master was it's truly remarkable how well behaved and adjusted they are."

Uryu nodded before he looked down at his watch and swore mildly before he said, "I better get going. I have some shopping to do or my kitty will pout and be very upset with me for several days after this." He waved goodbye to everyone as he walked away from them.

While Shunsui and Uryu had been talking Ichigo had been busy opening the letter from his bonded, he hummed lightly as he read it. He looked up when Shunsui said in a sake roughened purr, "I'll talk to you later Ichigo. However I believe that Sado-Kun and I have an appointment that we cannot miss with one another…"

The tall teen blushed lightly before he nodded goodbye to the amused Ichigo and Tatsuki. The pair then walked to Chad's apartment, after both of them had taken off their shoes, they walked through the living area and heard a mew. Chad looked down to see his kitten bounding toward them, he knelt down and said, "good evening, Oscar." As Chad greeted the cat Shunsui noticed that for its size it had fairly large ears, its coat was a spotted coloration, it was a coal black while the spots were only a few shades lighter than the main black.

The cat rubbed his face against Chad's hand and then rubbed up against his legs, he then made his way over to Shunsui who had knelt beside Chan. He sniffed at the shinigami and meowed up at him demandingly while butting its head against his leg, Shunsui chuckled as he scratched the cat behind the ears causing it to purr loudly. The cat then flopped on its back and meowed, Shunsui lightly scratched at his belly before scratching him under the chin. "You're the first person he's allowed to do that, you know." Chad commented quietly while watching his Kneazle demanding petting and scratching from the older man beside him.

Shunsui blinked down at the purring cat that was moving its body to where his fingers were scratching just where the cat wanted them to. He looked up at the brown eyed teen next to him before he said, "really? But he's so cute, why doesn't he let people do this if he likes it so much?"

Chad looked down at his cat and said, "he's not really a cat. Here let me show you," Chad reached down and tapped on of the tags on the cats collar. A light shimmered over the cat and after it faded Shunsui noticed that the cats tail is tufted like an African lions. Chad explained quietly, "he's a Kneazle, the Kneazle's are very intelligent cat-like creatures that can detect unsavory or suspicious persons very well. They react very badly to such people, if a kneazle takes a liking to a witch or wizard, it makes an excellent pet due to the protectiveness they have for their owners."

Shunsui blinked and asked casually, "so what does it mean if they react like this?" He had gestured to the purring and affectionate feline that was now rubbing against his ankles.

Chad blinked down at the animal before he said carefully, "I think it means that you are very trust worthy and he feels no trouble with leaving you alone with me." Chad looked up at the grey-eyed man, "in other words he approves of your presence, you'd probably be allowed into my house even if I'm not currently home."

After a final scratching session by both men they left the cat and made their way to the kitchen where Shunsui took a seat at the small table in there. Chad however looked in the cupboard and fridge before he started pulling out ingredients. As he did so he looked over his shoulder and asked, "have you ever tried Guisado De Chorizo y Papas?"

Shunsui blinked in puzzlement as he tried to figure out what the dish was before he said sheepishly while tilting his sakkat up, "I don't even know how to begin to pronounce it much less what it is… So I think it's safe to say that no I've never had it, as least as far as I know." He then cocked his head to the left curiously and his hair pins glinted in the light coming from the window above the sink as he asked, "why do you ask?"

Chad stared down into the fridge and pulled out some sausage before he answered quietly, "it was my Abuelo's favorite dish. He taught ma how to make it shortly before he died." Shunsui's eyes widened in comprehension and kept quiet as he watched Chad put three tablespoons of olive oil into a deep pan.

Chad then chopped two medium red onions and sliced six button mushrooms before putting them into the olive oil. He sautéed them briefly before he added four cloves of garlic finely minced, three large potatoes that had been peeled and chopped. He also took nine ounces of Chorizo sausage that he had cut into bite sized pieces to the onions and mushrooms. He sautéed all of the ingredients until the potatoes started to brown but not allowing the garlic to burn, he then added two tablespoons of Spanish paprika, five cups of chicken broth, two bay leaves and two teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper to the pot.

Chad brought the pot up to a boil before he lowed the heat to where the pot was simmering and cooked it for twenty minutes before he tested a potato to see if it was soft. It wasn't so he let it simmer for another five minutes before he tested it again, this time finding the potatoes to be soft enough, he had skimmed the fat off the top the first time he had tested the potatoes. He then stirred in two tablespoons of finely chopped fresh basil into the stew as he turned off the heat.

Chad then ladled the stew into two bowls and set one in front of Shunsui as well as a spoon. He then sat down and motioned for Shunsui to try the stew, Shunsui took a spoonful and after he blew on it slightly to cool it down he ate it. After he finished it he murmured, "this is good…"

Chad blushed lightly before he started eating his bowl, while glancing up to see how much Shunsui was liking the meal.

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Several hours later Shunsui walked up to Uryu and Grimmjow's apartment, he knocked on the door and a few minutes later felt Uryu's Reiatsu coming to the door. Uryu looked out and said, "good evening Shunsui. Did your date go well?"

The grey-eyed man laughed before he said, "of course. We had dinner than watched a movie."

As he led Shunsui into the house Uryu asked looking over his shoulder at the broader man, "what movie did you watch?"

As they walked to the kitchen Shunsui replied, "some movie called Flubber. It was pretty funny, but Chad told me that the stuff in the movie isn't actually real."

Uryu laughed and said, "no it's not, if it was I think all of us would be going a little crazy." Uryu gestured for him to sit at the table while he peeked into the bedroom to check on Grimmjow, who was sound asleep in his futon. He quietly closed the door and walked back over to Shunsui before he said, "he's sleeping. Did you need to talk to him?"

Shunsui shook his head before he said quietly, "no I just need to ask you three questions concerning how you think he's adjusting."

Uryu blinked a bit at that before he said, "oh, okay. Ask away then," he then sat down at the table and stared at him.

Shunsui laughed quietly before he pulled out a notepad and said, "question number one: does he behave himself around people who are unaware of shinigami and hollows?"

At that question Uryu snickered in amusement before he raised dancing blue eyes to look up at him before he said, "yes. He joined an archery club a little while back and everyone that belongs to the club seems to like him pretty well. They've all commented that although he acts all rough and gruff, he's pretty protective of all of them."

Shunsui had wrote down that Uryu had answered yes before what the rest of the Quincy said dawned on him, he stared at the archer before he said in a disbelieving tone, "Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, former Sexta Espada of Aizen, has joined an archery club… What in the world possessed him to do that?"

Uryu laughed at the gob smacked expression on the captains face before he said with a proud little smile, "Renji took him and Ulquiorra to a small archery club contest. While Renji wasn't looking he signed up for the club, believe it or not most of the club has him show off a few of his sword moves every few days. It seems he managed to convert most of the club to like watching sword fighting."

Shunsui blinked before he shook his head and asked, "how is he doing at it?"

Uryu's eyes twinkled as he said, "he's doing very well actually. The head of the club has even suggested that he enter a few amateur tournaments to test his skills. He's been thinking about taking that advice…"

Shunsui shook his head in amusement before he made a notation on the notepad before he said, "well that takes care of both the first and second questions." At Uryu's curious look he explained, "the second question was: has he socialized with anyone voluntarily? Since he joined the archery club of his own initiative the answer to that question is yes."

Uryu looked at the older man in amusement before he asked, "so what is question number three?"

Shunsui glanced down at the notepad before he winced slightly and asked, "Do you feel safe enough around him to allow him out of his gigai?"

Uryu gaped at him before he spluttered in shock and neither of the men noticed that Grimmjow had woken up, and was standing in the open doorway of the bedroom yawning. When Shunsui asked the last question Grimmjow had only been half away but at that question he woke up completely and waited anxiously for Uryu's answer.

After several moments of stunned silence, Uryu exploded quietly, to keep from waking Grimmjow, and hissed to Shunsui, "of course I trust him. He's proven several times that he can be trusted, why wouldn't I trust him. Why did you ask that?"

Shunsui held up his hands defensively at the enraged Quincy before he said, "easy there. I had to ask because if you had answered yes to the question the Head-Captain said you have permission to let him out so long as you are supervising him."

Grimmjow had at first gaped at the slim archers impassioned reply before he grinned happily, as he was grinning he thought to himself, ' _he trusts me!'_ He did a mental happy dance and subconsciously began to purr in delight at the thought of his chosen mate trusting him enough to allow him to be in his true form around him

Both Shunsui and Uryu looked up puzzled by the deep rumbling purr that rolled through the room. They turned to look at the bedroom and saw Grimmjow standing there, Uryu smiled in amusement at the sight of the rumpled looking blue haired hollow, who currently had the silliest looking grin on his face.

Much to Uryu's surprise and embarrassment Grimmjow strode across the room to him and scooped him up from his chair before he began to nuzzle his cheek against Uryu's. Shunsui watched in amusement as the former Sexta Espada purred contentedly while rubbing his cheek affectionately against his Quincy keepers. Except for the first startled squawk that Uryu had given he had remained quiet, after initially being startled by the move Uryu had started carding his fingers through the short blue hair of his captor. Both were startled by Shunsui clearing his throat to get their attention.

Once the Eighth division captain had their attention he said, "I'm glad to see that the two of you are doing well Grimmjow. Now that all of the questions have been answered I'll leave the two of you to your weekend." With that he waved goodbye to the blushing Quincy and the still purring hollow, he left the apartment and headed down the sidewalk.

However instead of heading back toward the Urahara shop he headed to the warehouse district of Karakura. As he walked he thought to himself, ' _little Nanao would never forgive me if I didn't check up on Lisa-Chan while I was here.'_ In the back of his mind he heard his Zanpakuto make a noise of agreement about his statement.

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An hour later Shunsui headed back to the Urahara shop to drop of the gigai he had used, only to be told that he could take it back with him. Kisuke told him, "that's a new model that I've made. It becomes an object the moment it passes through a Senkaimon that leads to the Seireitei, and becomes a Gigai if it's on you when you go through a Senkaimon heading to the living world. So long as the object is not touching your skin when you come to the living world the object won't become a Gigai."

Shunsui hummed a bit before he smiled and said cheerfully, "that will come in handy, especially for Byakuya."

Kisuke smirked and said, "well Ichigo did ask me to try and invent it for him, for just that reason."

Shunsui chuckled before he called a Senkaimon to take him back to the Seireitei, after he returned he made his way to the first division and after he had given the Head Captain his verbal report was dismissed. He had been told to have the written report to the Head Captain by the middle of next week, he had then headed back to his quarters to get some sleep.

He had been startled by the Head Captain after giving his verbal report, the Head-Captain had told him, "you may go to the living world on the weekends only so long as you have finished all of your weekday paperwork. If you have not then I will not authorize you to leave and if you do than you will be held accountable, is that understood Captain Kyoraku?" He had rapidly agreed to the terms, a chance to head to the living world every weekend to see Chad, he'd do all of his paperwork for that.

As he removed his hakama to head to bed he thought to himself, ' _I can live with doing my paperwork if it means I get to see Chad every weekend!'_

To his utter surprise his zanpakuto agreed by saying, _**'it'll certainly be nice to see him more often. I like him, do you think you could ask him if we can come out next time you watch a movie, Shunsui?'**_

He blinked a bit before he murmured back, "I'll ask him but I make no promises. We won't be able to see him until next weekend due to the report I have to write besides I can get a head start on the paperwork." With that he flopped down backwards on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.


	13. Chapter Twelve: Of Serpents and Dying Spiders

**Chapter Twelve:** **Of Serpents and Dying Spiders**

* * *

 

The fifth and sixth years were working on some of the higher ranked kido. Ginny was practicing Sokatsui, when Michael Corner began to talk to her and try to show off a bit. However all that he was managing to do was annoy her immensely instead of impressing her like he was trying to do. Tetsuzaemon looked on at the scene amusedly, he chucked as he watched the Ravenclaw trying hard to get the fiery red heads attention.

He smirked before he remarked to Rukia, who was standing next to him, "she's a bit like Ichigo, isn't she?"

Rukia smirked back at the dark haired man before she said cheerfully, "if you mean she has a temper, is easily annoyed by people trying to show off and would readily slug someone for an insult… Than yes, she's exactly like Ichigo, I have the oddest feeling that whoever ends up with her is going to have quite the firecracker on their hands."

She then canted her head to the left as she gazed at the Ravenclaw that was trying to get Ginny's attention before she said, "I also have the feeling that he wouldn't last two minutes with her brothers. One threat and he'd be hightailing it out of there, that is if she doesn't frighten him off first." She glanced over at the seventh division lieutenant before she smirked.

Tetsuzaemon snickered in amusement while he thought to himself, ' _I wonder what mother's reaction would be to her. Hell, I wonder what her reaction would be to meeting my mother…'_ Every time he had brought home a girl to meet his mother the girl would be easily chased off by his mother being her usual overbearing self. However, Ginny had grown up the youngest of seven sibling, and all of her six older sibling were boys, her mother was just as overbearing as his to the point that it seemed almost as if he was back home when he met Molly for the first time.

He snorted before he thought to himself, _'I wonder if she just might be the one woman who mother wouldn't be able to scare off by being herself. If anything she might just get along with my mother, I don't know what would be worse, the fact that mother scares her off or if the two of them get along well…'_

Kushina took note of the way Ginny's eyes were starting to flash in anger and made her way over to the pair, she cleared her throat while standing behind Michael and said sternly, "I don't recall telling you that you had permission to take a break Mr. Corner. Get back to your assigned area and get back to work or I'll take it as a sign that you no longer wish to be in this class…"

At that not so subtle threat the sixth year Ravenclaw gulped and quickly walked back to his station to practice his kido. Ginny smiled up at the older girl and said, "thanks, he was really starting to irritate me."

Kushina laughed slightly before she said, "no problem, truth be told he was beginning to annoy me as well." With that remark she walked away, as she walked away from Ginny she smirked at Tetsuzaemon and as she walked past him she said, "good luck with catching her. She's like a wild horse, difficult to catch and tame, but once their loyalty and love has been earned it's difficult to break it."

With that parting shot she walked over to Astoria to help walk her through with her Shakkaho. Tetsuzaemon gaped after her in shock and thought to himself dazedly, _'did I just get permission to go ahead and try to steal Ginny's heart?'_

Rukia looked at Tetsuzaemon's shocked face and then at Kushina's smug look before she cheerfully slapped him on the back and said, "don't worry!" At his questioning look she elaborated, "I'll put in a good word for you with Ron." She laughed at the disbelieving look he had on his face as he stared down at her at that remark.

Five minutes later Kushina whistled to get everyone's attention, once she had their attention she said, "alright. For the first lesson of the year, everyone is doing well, I can tell which ones of you kept up your meditation during the summer break. However it's nearly curfew for the prefects so… Class Dismissed!" With that she clapped her hands together and then gestured for everyone to leave the room, after she made sure everyone was out of the room she exited it herself.

Rukia cracked her neck and knuckles before she yawned tiredly, after everyone had exited the Room of Requirement she suggested, "hey, Kushina?" At Kushina's hum of acknowledgement she continued with, "how about I take the Slytherin's and Hufflepuffs to their common rooms?"

Kushina sighed before she nodded in agreement and said, "alright. Tetsuzaemon?" He looked up and gestured that he heard her, so she continued with, "can you do me a favor and take the Gryffindor's back to their common room? I'm afraid I need to have a chat with a certain young man about what is and what is not considered proper behavior in my classroom." At that comment Michael gulped in fear, especially since Kushina was staring right at him as she said it with a dark look on her face.

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Twenty minutes later Kushina walked into the common room to the sight of Ginny and Tetsuzaemon talking quietly in front of the fireplace. She looked at them with an amused smile on her face before she wiped any signs of amusement off her face and cleared her throat sharply. After the two of them jumped and looked at her in shock she said, "the two of you can continue this discussion in the morning. Ginny, you need to get to bed, Tetsuzaemon, you need to do the same. Now say good night and go to bed already."

Kushina after much thought about it during the summer had decided against having classes on the weekend. The Room of Requirement would still be open to practice in since some of the Shinigami had volunteered to watch over any students who wanted to practice on the weekend. However no formal or even informal class would be held on the weekends anymore, if it hadn't been for her clones Kushina doubted she would have even had time to study last year.

She watched in amusement as the two bid each other goodnight and made a promise to talk to one another the next day. She then watched as Tetsuzaemon walked out the door, Ginny turned to Kushina and said, "goodnight, Kushina." She then turned and headed up the stairs to the fifth year girls dorm room.

Kushina sighed again before she shook her head fondly at the retreating younger witch, she then turned and walked over to Minato's portrait. He took one look at her and without saying a word opened up for her. She entered the room to find a pair of feathered balls on the floor near the fireplace, meanwhile curled up around the two balls was a cheetah, who was snoring peacefully.

She chuckled lightly before she reached down and tapped the large cat on the nose. The cat woke up with a soft snort, it then blinked blearily up at her before it uncurled carefully to avoid disturbing the sleeping chicks. It then stretched while it yawned sleepily before it carefully picked up one of the still sleeping chicks in its mouth and made it's way quietly to the bedroom.

Kushina picked up the other sleeping chick and followed just as quietly as the cat to the bedroom, all the while laughing silently to herself. It never failed to amaze her just how gentle her cheetahs could be with things that in the wild they would normally consider their prey.

After the two owlets were settled down with their mother and father for the night, the pair then walked back into the living room. Kushina asked softly, "what brings you by to see me, Nobuyuki?"

The cat stretched and yawned again before he said, "just the report you wanted on Naruto's progress so far."

She snorted before she said, "alright then. How is he doing so far?" As she asked that she had sat down on the couch and patted the cushion beside her. The cheetah leapt up and settled down, he had laid his front paws and head on her right thigh.

As Kushina scratched him lightly behind the ears he said, "he's doing rather well actually. He's still having a bit of difficulty with clones, but otherwise he's doing pretty good. He's almost mastered tree climbing, however his water walking isn't up to your usual standards, but he is a lot better than he used to be at it..." he trailed off with a rolling purr.

Kushina hummed lightly as she processed the information she had just been given before she murmured, "that's good news. As for why he's still having issues with the clones that's simple, he's an Uzumaki and thus has a larger than average chakra pool. He's putting more chakra than required into the clone and thus making it unstable, there is nothing you can do about that until he's learned more control over his chakra. Have him keep doing the tree climbing and water walking exercises, okay?"

The cat flicked both of his ears before he looked up at her and said, "yes, Mistress Kushina."

When Nobuyuki didn't get up nor disappear in a puff of smoke she raised an eyebrow at him and asked, "what else do you need to talk to me about?"

Nobuyuki sighed before he sat up to look her in the eye and said, "it might be nothing… but… We've had to correct several of his Taijutsu moves. Every time we help him train we have to correct something that is really simple to get even if you are only learning it out of a book."

Kushina frowned slightly before she asked quietly, "it's that consistent?" When Nobuyuki nodded her frown deepened and she asked, "is it always the same thing needing to be corrected?" When he shook his head for the second time her frown deepened to a scowl of anger, she then gripped the cheetah by the scruff of the neck. As she stared him in the eye she snarled, "I want you, Minoru, Midori, Miyako and Shizuka to shadow Naruto's every move. I want you five to make notes on who interacts with him, how they interact with him, and if anyone is purposefully making him pick up bad habits I want their names written down. Am I understood?"

Nobuyuki grinned up at his Mistress before he purred out, "loud and clear, my Mistress!"

Kushina then smiled toothily down at the cat before she said, "good. Now get going, I want that report by Christmas, I'll be with the Uchiha's." Nobuyuki nodded before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

As she walked to her bedroom her eyes flashed a bright gold in anger and she mentally snarled, ' _whoever is trying to hurt my child by making him take up bad habits is going to rue the day they ever even contemplated it!'_ With that she closed her bedroom door and got ready for bed, in the back of her mind both of her Zanpakuto were grinning darkly, they fully agreed with their wielder. Anyone who tried to hurt Naruto would pay most dearly for it.

* * *

In Konoha, Mizuki woke up from a sound sleep with a chill up his spine and his heart pounding in fear. His eyes darted all around his room before he relaxed at finding nothing threatening in the room. "It was just a bad dream," he muttered as he fell back onto his bed and curled back under the covers to go back to sleep.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of Konoha, Naruto was sleeping peacefully and at the same time that Kushina made her vow he smiled a bit and in his dreams he got the feeling of being safe. In the nook that he had made for himself, Dobby was snoring quietly until Kushina made her vow, he then woke up briefly and muttered to himself, "Mistress is very angry with someone right now. That she is…" he then fell back asleep and when he woke the next morning he'd forgotten all about it.

While in the seal on Naruto's stomach, a red haired man woke from his slumber to look around warily before he snickered and said, "someone is going to pay dearly for something. I haven't felt Kushina this angry since she found out that the villagers drove Sakumo to suicide to protect Kakashi-Kun." With that Kurama settled back down in the nest he had made for himself. Although his larger form was intimidating it was not that comfortable to sleep in, as he fell asleep he muttered, "I wonder who made her so angry…"

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As she walked down the stairs Kushina cracked her knuckles and thought to herself about the team this year. Katie had thought it better to concentrate on her studies this year, she had asked to be moved to the reserve team instead of the main team, which moved both Dennis and Collin up to the main team. Both Seamus and Dean were now regular players instead of reserve. She contemplated on whether or not to hold a tryout this year, she had seen a bit of potential in the last tryout… Finally she shook her head and decided to hold one next year instead of this year, after all that would be hers, Deans, Seamus, and Ron's last year on the team and in the school.

She had been startled when she'd been offered the position of Captain of the Quidditch team, but even Ron agreed that she was the best for the position as she was the most senior on the team next to Katie and Katie had no interest in being Captain. After a while of being stunned she happily accepted the offer, she hummed lightly before she made a mental note to herself, ' _suggest that the next Captain be either Ginny Weasley or Dennis Creevey to Professor McGonagall.'_

She reached the Great Hall where to her surprise it was mostly empty, she guessed that most of the students were taking advantage of the weekend to sleep in, especially since she wasn't holding classes on the weekends anymore. She took a look at the tables before she consulted her stomach she then headed toward the founders portraits to talk with them for a while. Neither Lady Ravenclaw nor Lady Hufflepuff were in their frames, while Godric was sitting on the floor with his head resting against Salazar's right thigh. Every once and a while the red haired founder would let out a soft snore before becoming quiet again.

Kushina's lips twitched in amusement at the sight and sound of her ancestor asleep, her gold eyes then locked on to a pair of hazel. As she stared at the first summoner of the Serpents she said, "he's rather cute when he's asleep." Salazar had merely gave her a smile and a conceding nod, after a few minutes Kushina asked, "how did the two of you meet anyway?"

The black haired man blinked his hazel eyes in surprise at the, in his opinion, oddball question. After a few stunned minutes of silence he murmured, "that is the first time someone has asked that question…"

Kushina shrugged before she remarked with a slight smirk, "there's a first time for everything."

Salazar chuckled before he gave her a conceding nod and said, "very true, my dear. Very true," he then leaned back into his chair and ran his fingers through Godric's shoulder length red hair.

"When I was fifteen, my parents along with a great many others died of a sickness, it was rather sudden. It had come completely out of the blue, most of the group died, out of seventy five people only seventeen were left alive at the end." As he spoke he looked down at the man nuzzling into his hand.

He took a shuddering breath before he continued, "my older sister survived along with her husband. However, our younger sister died, she had only been seven years old… After six months I told Mikata, that's my older sister, that I was going to leave the group to go on an adventure. As much as she didn't want me to leave, my sister knew better than to try to make me stay, she wouldn't be able to cage me nor to chain me to her side."

He huffed a laugh before he murmured, "I've never really liked staying still. I ended up traveling through many lands, during my travels I came across a snake egg and hatched it. The snake that hatched from it became my familiar after it turned a year old, he was my closest companion for while."

He sighed gustily before he continued, "three years after I left my group behind I had been given a name by the people who dwelled in the Fens. Thankfully they could pronounce my first name with relative ease so they gifted me with a second name, they decided to call me Slytherin. It means: Serpent Man of Distant Shores," he snorted lightly in amusement. He then said, "I had told them about the distance I had traveled as well as the sights I had seen. They had found my tales to be fascinating, the children had loved to hear me tell stories of the faraway places I had been to. They had often begged me to tell the same story again and again…"

He shook his head in bemusement before he said, "during my travels I had heard of a certain Griffin of the Moor. When I had heard what he could do I knew right away he'd been trained much the same way I had been… So I decided to seek him out, it turned out that as I had heard tales of his exploits so had he of mine." He had broken off of his tale long enough to laugh at the irony.

"We ended up in the same battle on the same side, actually at the end of the skirmish the two of us ended up back to back with each other. We were counting off how many of the enemy we had taken down," he laughed again before he looked at her with dancing hazel eyes. He then said conspiratorially, "at the end of the battle our score was the exact same number. We turned to each other and introduced ourselves, to the shock of everyone around us we pointed at each other and said…"

At that point Godric who had woken up half way through Salazar's tale said, "I've been looking for you!"

At Salazar and Kushina's startled looks he quirked an eyebrow up at his husband and descendant before he said, "that is what we said to each other that day. At least as far as I can recall…"

Salazar smiled down gently at the man who had his head currently pillowed on Salazar's leg. "Indeed it was my lion," he murmured happily.

Kushina smiled at the pair before she noticed Ron and Hermione coming into the Great Hall out of the corner of her eye. She then said quietly, "thank you for your story, Lord Slytherin. But I'm afraid that it has come the time for me to break my fast." With that she curtsied and made her way to the Gryffindor table.

She dropped down next to Ron, who was sitting across from Hermione. Both happily nodded a greeting to her before they dug into their plates. Both were eating a large amount, Kushina remembered that both had decided to practice some kido this morning.

After the three had finished their breakfast, Kushina tilted her head to the right and looked at the staff table before she asked quietly, "why do you think Hagrid hasn't come to any of the meals in the last four day?"

Ron shrugged and Hermione bit her lower lip before she said, "I don't know… But I'm getting worried about him, if some of the rumors are to be believed than he's hasn't been enthusiastic about any of his classes lately…"

As they stood up to leave the Great Hall Ron suggested, "how about we go see him after Quidditch Practice?" Both Kushina and Hermione smiled up at him before they agreed. With that the trio left the Hall with a nod of farewell to the founders who were currently regaling the younger years with tales of their exploits and headed to the pitch.

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After dinner, Kushina snuck out of Hogwarts and headed into the forbidden forest, she ignored the path that led to the centaur's lair as she had no business with them tonight. Instead about fifty feet into the forest she flew through the hand seals that were used to summon. With a puff of smoke a gigantic snake appeared under her, it looked up at her before it said, "hello, Kushina. How are you?"

She smiled down at him before she said, "I'm good, Manda. How about yourself?"

Manda hissed a laugh before he said, "I'm well enough. Why did you summon me? There doesn't appear to be anything to fight here and you don't seem as if you want to talk…"

She sighed a bit before she explained, "I need to go remind the Acromantula about their promise to me. Aragog is dying, knowing Hagrid he will want to bury him so I need to remind his children and mate who is boss around here… namely me. Normally Acromantula eat their dead, but I'm going to order them to either to allow him to take Aragog's body or to drop it off at the edge of the forest." She gave him a fierce grin before she commented, "I'm also going to mention just how bad of an idea it would be to join Moldy Voldy."

Manda hissed in amusement before she jumped from the top of his head and landed lightly in front of him. She then led him down the trail then off the trail toward the Acromantula's lair in the forest, the colony of spiders chattered in fright at the sight of the massive serpent following her like a little puppy.

Aragog clicked his pincers together nervously as he caught the scent of the snake in his lair, as well as Kushina's scent, her scent made many of the creatures in the forest nervous due to the slight scent of death clinging to her. Inwardly, the elephant sized spider worried that one of his children had broken the rules that had been laid down and that all of them would now die for it. "You're dying Aragog," Kushina stated casually as she leaned against the side of Manda's snout, her casual declaration caused most of the spiders to stare at her in shock.

She continued to comment as she stared up at the blind arachnid, "I have an order for your mate and children. You've been close to Hagrid for fifty years, normally your kind eats their dead, however Hagrid due to sentimentally won't want them to do that. He's going to want to bury you near him so he can come visit your grave, so my order for your children and mate is simple. They are either to allow Hagrid to come collect your body or they are to deliver it to Hagrid at the edge of the forest immediately after your death. Your children are then to head back here immediately, if I catch them hanging around outside of your area then that will be grounds for immediate extermination." She then gave the much smaller spiders who were hanging back nervously and snarled, "am I understood?"

After several minutes it became clear that Kushina wanted an affirmative answer from all of the arachnids present in the clearing. One by one the spiders confirmed that they understood and agreed to the terms that she set down, the whole time while she was waiting for their answers Manda was hissing comments about how juicy they looked.

After receiving the affirmatives from all of the spiders present she smiled smugly then turned to walk away, as she did so she casually commented, "by the by, joining Voldemort is an automatic death sentence for all of you. You are the only colony of Acromantula in Europe, so I'll know immediately where to come if I spot a single Acromantula with Voldy or his death eaters." She didn't bother to mention that it was Voldemort who had opened the Chamber of Secrets and let the basilisk out as well as the one to frame Hagrid for Myrtles murder in the first place. She then smiled at them viciously and snarled, "I may not be a wolf, but if you dare harm my pack… I'll show you just why I smell like death to you!"

With that she turned around and stalked out of the clearing, Manda hissed at the terrified spiders, "she's not joking either. She's already told me and my children that if any one of you break her rules than we get to have a nice crunchy all-you-can-eat spider buffet." With that he turned around and followed one of his two favorite summoners out of the Acromantula's lair.

Kushina had paused next to a large twisted tree and was leaning against it while waiting for Manda to get through threatening the spiders. She was staring up through the canopy at the stars, tracing the constellations while doing so, at his approach she tore her gaze away from the stars. She gave him a lopsided smile before she said, "thanks for coming with me, Manda."

The large serpent looked down at her with an odd expression on his face before he muttered, "I'm always happy to come when you call, Kushina. You're far better to answer than Orochimaru after all, so there is no need to say thank you to me."

She slapped his side just a few feet past his head before she mock scolded him, "I'll thank you if I want too, you silly serpent."

Manda hissed out a laugh before he looked down at her fondly and said, "then you're welcome Kushina-Chan. However, if I don't leave soon I'll be noticed by the students that are still awake, and I don't think they'd take having a serpent my size near the school all that well."

Kushina conceded his point with a nod of her head before she said, "you're right about that, goodnight, Manda. I'll see about summoning you during Christmas so we can talk, I'll be visiting Mikoto-Chan during that time." The large snake nodded in farewell before he vanished in a puff of smoke, Kushina then left the forest and snuck back into Hogwarts pausing in the foyer of the school.

Even though she had full authority to walk the school no matter the time, she decided to sneak in and out of the castle, if only to keep up her skills as a Shinobi. As she stood in the shadows she contemplated how to go about sneaking back to her common room this time. The last time she visited the Acromantula's she didn't bother sneaking due to Firenze waiting for her at the edge of the forest, however since no one was waiting for her right now, she could sneak to her hearts content. After several moments of thought she smirked and turned to the wall near her and walked up it until she was standing on the ceiling, most people even ghosts didn't bother to look up. She wandered the roof and made her way to the seventh floor, she stood just a short distance away from her common room, she looked down and around to make sure there was no one watching.

She then stopped the flow of chakra to her feet, which caused her to drop from the ceiling, in mid fall she flipped to where her feet were under her and cushioned her fall with chakra. Her impact with the floor was completely silent, she then stood up smoothly from the crouch she had landed into, after she stood up she walked over to the portrait that guarded her common room and gave Melina the password. The common room was completely empty of course, she then walked over to Minato who swung open with a smirk. She entered her rooms and went to the bedroom to get ready for bed, Hedwig clacked her tongue and beak while staring at her reproachfully at the late hour.

Kushina walked over to her and knelt beside the nest, she ran her fingers gently over Hedwig's head and along her back before she said, "sorry girl. But I had to go warn them, Aragog is dying and you know Hagrid, he'll want to bury him, I didn't want anyone to get hurt because the Acromantula forgot my warning to them.." With a final pet to the snowy owl she stood up and changed into her sleeping clothes before she crawled into bed, she fell asleep after only five minutes.

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Almost a month after Kushina visited the Acromantula's she was in the common room slouched in one of the chairs next to the fire and was muttering to herself, "I'm bored, so very damn bored, Yo." While she was muttering to herself she was tapping her wand against her right shoulder and had her hair in a low ponytail, she was wearing a pair of navy blue slacks with a white dress shirt that had the collar button and first two buttons undone.

At the first 'Yo' that had come out of her mouth all of the students in the common room had blanched with fear and the first years looked up at the older years in puzzlement. The only time Kushina dressed like that and said, 'Yo' was when she was so bored that she'd prank the Minister of Magic for a laugh. Actually at one point she had pranked Minister Fudge, to this day she still refused to tell the twins or anyone else for that matter how in the world she managed to sneak into his office to pull it off. Nor did she explain where she had gotten the statues she had filled his office with or ever who the statues were supposed to be for that matter.

One of the statue was of a man wearing a bright red coat and every five minutes it would quote poetry to whoever was nearby it. No one had yet been able to figure out how it was speaking nor the source of the poetry, and if anyone had asked had bothered to ask Kushina about it, she wouldn't be able to tell them about where she got it from either. If asked who the statues where she'd just shrug before she'd mutter, "how in the world am I supposed to know? The images just came to me all of the sudden and I made them, who cares where I got them from…"

Of course there was a good reason that all of Gryffindor house would batten down the hatches and dive for cover when Kushina got in this kind of a mood. That reason was simple, they never knew if she would relieve her boredom by a prank or by blowing something up. If Kisuke could remember his former life as Minato he could have told them that she used to act like that back in Konoha when she got bored, the Hokage had decided to use that to his advantage by sending her on missions that required large scale destruction whenever she was bored.

Unfortunately, this merely added to her already fearsome reputation because she also usually took the opportunity to prank the heck out of every enemy nin she came across during the mission. Most of the civilians of Konoha were completely unaware of her large reputation and since Kushina was usually gentle with the people of Konoha aside from a prank here and there they never believed a word of the stories they heard. Because of that none of them knew that the ramen loving red haired woman who occasionally played pranks was in the bingo book of every country with a large bold warning by her name. The warning read: ' **Engage in combat only if absolutely necessary. She is to be considered highly volatile and destructive. Recommend that you flee on sight.'**

Minato had found a bingo book on an enemy nin that he had captured and as he had sat on a log while the enemy was watching thumbed through the book. He smirked at the warning by his name: ' **Flee on Sight,** ' he then thumbed through the book and found his girlfriends page. Much to the surprise of his three students and the enemy nin, Minato started laughing to the point he actually fell off the log onto the ground and began rolling around while laughing. Kakashi had been curious as to what it was that his sensei found so amusing so he picked up the book and found the page that he had read before he began laughing.

After he read the entry Kakashi snorted in derision and said scathingly, "you mean to tell me that other countries would rather flee from a battle than engage your girlfriend in combat, Minato-Sensei?"

At that comment the enemy-nin's eyes widened in fear and thought to himself, 'there are only five entries that have the recommendation that you flee on sight, one is Minato Namikaze, another is Kushina Uzumaki, the other three belong to the Sanin and I don't think that this man is dating Tsunade Senju…'

Minato had sat up after he calmed down his laughter and said with a smile, "Kushina does have a rather fearsome reputation, Kakashi." While Minato and Kakashi were speaking Rin and Obito had pulled the book away from Kakashi and looked the entry log over. Both raised their eyebrows in shock, 'that is one hell of a message to have by someone's name…' was the thought that rolled through both of their heads.

Obito blinked a bit and said, "I really don't know why they have such a warning by her name, she's babysat me a few times when I was kid. She was never anything else but kind, a little mischievous but always kind to me and the other kids…" He then glanced over at Kakashi and asked, "how do you know her, Kakashi?"

Rin looked up at that she was rather curious herself about how Kakashi knew this woman, however Kakashi wasn't the one who answered but their sensei. "Kushina has trained Kakashi in a few techniques, plus his father was usually the one assigned as her partner on missions." Minato plucked the book from Rin's hands and said with a soft smile on his face, "there used to be a notation in both Kushina's and Sakumo's entries that said if both were encountered in a battle they were to flee at once. It also said that if fleeing was impossible then the book recommended suicide over engaging them in combat, Kushina and Sakumo had laughed for hours about that." His eyes had gone glassy at the memory of that day, one of the other Ninja had brought home a bingo book from Rain and read it aloud in the mission room, the pair had walked into the mission room to turn in their reports.

Minato had then shaken his head and said with amusement glinting in his blue eyes, "I'm going to have to show this to her when we get home."

Of course, Kisuke didn't remember and thus all of Hogwarts remained completely unaware of the fact. As she continued to mutter over how bored she was, Kushina's Zanpakuto were wincing and finally Thanatos had enough of the constant stream of, "bored, bored, bored. I'm so damn bored, Yo!"

"Why don't you play that prank you planned on the Death Eaters if you're so bored!" Thanatos shouted at her, he then got up and stalked over to ANBU headquarters, then walked inside the building and went into one of the many interrogation rooms before he slammed the door.

Anubis looked after his partner longingly inwardly wishing he could do the same, however, one of the pair had to remain ready in case Kushina had to call them.

Meanwhile in the common room everyone still inside it winced at the darkly gleeful smile that crossed her face. She then got up from the chair and nonchalantly stalked across the room to the door with a predatory saunter, she then walked down the hallway to the room of requirement. As she walked down the hallway, the Bloody Baron took one look at her face and promptly turned around and glided though the wall behind him. When she got that look on her face not even Peeves risked getting her attention when she got like this.

She then paced in front of the Room of Requirement door area three times before a door appeared in the wall. She opened it and was pleased to discover that the layout was similar to the last time she called a meeting between the four houses, only this time there was only eighteen seats along with the desk in front of them all. "This will do perfectly," she purred in satisfaction as she stalked further into the room.

Upon reaching the center of the room she summoned eighteen shadow clones, she then gestured for them to take a seat at the desks in front of her and said, "I'll begin the briefing shortly." She then watched as her shadow clones took a seat and waited patiently for her to begin briefing them on the mission.

After much careful consideration Kushina summoned three more clones, she then handed them each a bag of coins while she said, "I need you to go buy six cameras as well as twelve rolls of film." As the three made their way to the door she added, "make sure to henge into random people before doing so, also come back here immediately afterwards." The three clones nodded before they slipped out of the Room of Requirement and into the hallway, the three quickly scaled the wall to stand on the roof.

Kushina then turned her attention to the clones seated in front of her, she grinned before she cleared her throat and said, "your mission is simple. Six of you will henge into six known death eaters who got out of going to Azkaban by saying they were under the Imperious curse. Another six will be henged into random people, the six of you will follow the Death Eater clones and take pictures as they do random acts of kindness to muggles. The last six will be henged as Headmaster Dumbledore, I'll spell all of you to where muggles will ignore you and so will any wizards that see you."

The clones grinned as one and rubbed their hands together in anticipation of the fun that they would be having. A few minutes after that the three clones came back and handed six bags over to her, the three money bags and the three shopping bags. Kushina dismissed them as soon as they handed the bags over and then cracked her neck before she handed the camera's over to six of her clones before she said gleefully, "have fun."

She watched with amusement as six of the clones took on the appearance of random enemy nin they had once fought and pranked. She then watched as another of her six clones henged into Albus Dumbledore, the other six looked at her and asked curiously, "who are we supposed to henge into?"

She grinned at them wickedly while ticking of the names on her fingers as she spoke them, "Lucius Malfoy, Walden McNair, Crabbe senior, Goyle senior, Theodore's Father, and Avery. Think the six of you can manage to completely ruin their reputation as Death Eaters?"

The six grinned at each other before they henged into the six men and chorused, "we'll certainly try!"

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The next day Kushina was helping Collin develop the film from the clones excursion, Collin had snickered at some of the pictures and asked, "can I use some of the double prints to make an album?"

She smirked down at the photo she was holding and said casually, "sure. Make sure to show it to some of the teachers, okay?"

He nodded rapidly and said happily, "sure thing, Kushina," he then looked up at her and said, "this explains why you were so smug yesterday." When all she did was smirk at him he shook his head and said, "I'm not even going to ask who you got to Polyjuice into the Death Eaters. Because there is no way that these are the actual people in the photo's there are just something's that even they wouldn't do to get in the publics good graces." He then bounced off to go make the photo album of the pictures that Kushina deemed unusable for her purposes.

She stalked to her rooms and as she did so she flicked through the stack of photos, she snickered at the one of Lucius Malfoy helping a little old woman across the street. She smirked at the one of Walden McNair helping a little girl by getting her cat out of a tree, and getting scratched for his troubles. Crabbe apparently helping a woman by loading the trunk of her car with shopping bags while she stood and held her baby. Goyle helping by holding the door open for a harried young woman juggling a stack of books, Avery helping child get their kite from the tree where it had lodged itself and Nott Senior helping dish out food at a soup kitchen for the homeless.

After she set them down on the desk she rubbed her hands together gleefully, when Voldemort saw those he was going to blow his top. What's more she knew that none of the six that she had them henge into were seen in the wizarding world yesterday nor were they called by the dark lord so it was actually plausible for them to have done this. Minato looked at her amused as she let out the cackle she'd been holding back since her clones dispersed yesterday after they had finished taking the photos.

Anubis appeared behind her along with Thanatos, as he leaned over her shoulder to take a look at the photos he commented, "this should do the trick at making Voldemort angry at his Death Munchers."

Thanatos smirked before he asked, "how are you going to deliver these to him without risking an owl?"

Kushina glanced over at them before she said innocently, "I was thinking that Anubis could deliver them…"

Anubis stared at her before he yelped, "why me? Why don't you have Thanatos deliver them?"

Kushina snickered before she said, "because, which do you think would be more amusing? Having a crow deliver the letters or a Jackal? Besides, I send Thanatos with messages to the Lestrange brothers, I don't want any suspicion falling on them concerning this prank."

Anubis pouted slightly but nodded and said, "alright I'll take them… Do you want me to deliver a message to the brothers?"

Kushina nodded as she wrote out the note that would go with the pictures, "yeah, tell them to lay low and not attract Voldemort's attention for a while. He's going to be pretty angry about these pictures after all…"

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Three hours later Anubis was making his way to the moor where Voldemort and his men were hiding out at, he had the letter and photos clutched in his jaws. He was being careful to have a firm enough grip on it that it wouldn't slip from his mouth but not so firm as to tear the parchment containing the letter and photos.

Voldemort was holding a meeting and the Lestrange brothers were near the back guarding the entrance, they were startled by a Jackal padded into the room without the door being opened. It ignored all of the Death Eaters to walk up to Voldemort and ignored the wand trained on it by the Dark Lord dropped the parcel it was holding into his lap. It then turned around and padded back out, the Lestrange brothers eyes had widened behind their masks because they had heard in their minds as it had walked up to the dark lord. ' _ **You might want to keep your heads down for a while, Moldy Voldy is going to be very upset with six of his Death Munchers.'**_

As the voice predicted, Voldemort opened the letter and read it, he scowled at the odd letter, it read: _Do you know what your Death Eaters get up too during the time they're away from you?_ He noticed the pictures and pulled them out, as he flipped through them he snarled in anger before bellowing, "WORMTAIL! Get over here!" The rat faced man scurried over to his master and bared his left forearm, Voldemort pressed his wand into the tattoo there and waited impatiently for six Death Eaters to show up.

Bellatrix frowned in puzzlement as Lucius, Walden, Avery, Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle showed up only to have the Dark Lord bellow, "CRUCIO!" The six Death Eater writhed in pain at the force of the Dark Lords curse after only a minute he let up the spell before he hissed in anger while holding up the pictures, "what is the meaning of these?" The six men looked up at him confused, and he snarled, "answer before I cast it on you again!"

The two brothers looked at each other with slight amusement in there eyes and thought to themselves, ' _couldn't have happened to a more deserving bunch of people.'_ Rabastan's lips twitched and he whispered to his brother while the rest of the death eaters and the dark lord were preoccupied with the six that were in trouble, "how about we send whoever did this copies of our memories?" Rodolphus smirked at his baby brother before he nodded in agreement.

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A week later Kushina received two vials of memories from the brothers via Thanatos, she used her pensive to watch the memories before she laughed and gasped out, "I have to show these to Dad, Papa, Uncle 'Rus, Uncle Sear and Aunt Lily. They'll get a kick out of seeing this, I didn't think that the prank would go so well." She laughed at the memory of Voldemort dressed up in a neon pink tutu and the death eaters in front of him dressed as Munchkins.

She stumbled out of her room still laughing as she made her way to her parents rooms. The portraits and ghosts took one look at her and decided it was better for their sanity if they didn't bother asking what she was laughing about.


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Of Nervous Captains and Excited Elves

**Chapter Thirteen:** **Of Nervous Captains and Excited Elves**

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As the cheetahs observed Naruto during the day, Nobuyuki sighed quietly as the small female next to him snarled in anger, "did you see that!" She jerked her head toward the silver haired instructor seemingly giving Naruto sound advice on correcting his Taijutsu stance. The cat continued to growl as she snarled, "he just purposefully told him the wrong stance!" Her eyes narrowed with rage and she wailed a few minutes later, "that's going to take us hours to fix!"

She then turned to a much younger but larger male adolescent and snarled, "mark his name down. The younger male quickly nodded before he spoke the name into the auto-inking dictation quill that their summoner had bought for them from Hogsmeade last year. The lone female turned back to the scene in front of her while muttering about making certain offenders pay for hurting their precious cub, the cheetahs had, over the past year, come to think of Naruto as a cub of the Pard and thus to be protected at all costs.

Nobuyuki sighed again at his baby sisters theatrics before he said, "what I don't like is how his jumpsuit makes him a walking target. Why does he wear it? I get the fact that he improves his stealth by being able to lose his trackers while wearing it… Hell some of the ANBU should take notes on his tricks and traps."

His sister sighed before she answered him, "because it's the only thing he has. He made it himself out of the only fabric that was cheap enough that he could afford it and it wasn't wanted by anyone else so he bought all the bolts that the store had. Since it was all that he had he forced himself to love it after several years of wearing it." She sighed again before she muttered, "truth be told I think he'd rather wear any other color but orange. He really only started to wear it after the Uchiha massacre, as before they disappeared he would get some of the clothes that the Uchiha mothers older children had out grown years ago. Why did you want to know, Nobu'," she stared at him with a confused expression as she asked.

He grinned at her before he replied casually, "his birthday is coming up soon. I was thinking about suggesting to Kushina-Sama about getting him new clothes as a present."

The other cheetahs blinked in shock but his baby sister merely grinned at him before she cried out happily, "that's brilliant! What colors do you think he would like to have?"

Nobuyuki shrugged lazily before he muttered absently, "how should I know… I was just going to give the suggestion to our summoner and let her decide, after all he's her cub." With that he turned back to stare down at the exercise yard as Naruto practiced then as Naruto as he entered the academy. Three of the five cheetahs followed Naruto from the academy to Ichikaru ramen shop and watched carefully as he ate several bowls of Ramen then the three followed him back home.

Naruto made a beeline to a stack of scrolls and after searching through them for several moments he pulled one out with a quiet, "ah ha!" He then read through the scroll on the Taijutsu stance he had been having trouble with according to Mizuki, he found that although his stance was slightly wrong it was due to his height and weight, not with how he was standing. The notes on the stance stated: this stance may be adjusted by the user to their comfort level, so long as the basics of the stance remain the user may adjust as much as they like.

* * *

Naruto scowled down at the scroll before he thought furiously to himself, ' _he showed me how to do the improper stance not the correct one! Note to self: never trust anything Mizuki-Sensei says unless first checking about it with Iruka-Sensei, a book or Ryuu-Okasan first! End mental note!_ '

Unknown to Naruto a sticky note appeared on the wall opposite of Kurama's cage, the large fox read the message before he began to snicker at it. After he had calmed down his laughter at the note he muttered, "good boy, Naru-Chan." He then settled back into his nest to take a nap before he said grouchily, "of course I wish you'd hurry up and fid out I'm here. I'd like for you to change my prison," he glanced around at the sewer while sneering in disgust.

* * *

As his sister and the younger male settled down into lazy sprawls to watch Naruto at home, Nobuyuki said, "I'm going to see our mistress and tell her about our suggestion for his birthday present." His sister looked up from her rather lazy sprawl before she nodded at him in acknowledgement, she watched as he vanished in a puff of smoke. She then turned her attention back to the rather angry blond boy and snickered at the thought of what their mistress was going to do to everyone who had harmed one hair on her son's head.

Nobuyuki reappeared in his summoners living area at Hogwarts, he sniffed the air lightly to try to see if she was around. Although he found her scent easily enough and although it was still a fresh scent, that could either mean that she was still in the rooms or she had just left. He heard a soft chuckle from behind him and he glanced over his shoulder at the painting of his summoners mate. "You just missed her, Nobuyuki," Minato said to the large spy.

The large cat sighed before he jumped up on the couch and settled down to wait for her to arrive back. As he did so he asked, "how long do you think she'll be gone, Minato-San?"

The former Hokage shrugged before he said thoughtfully, "I don't think she'll be that long, she was just going to check on something really quick. She might slip down to Hogsmeade tomorrow even though the first weekend is approaching rapidly…" The cheetah snorted before he laid his head on top of his paws and closed his eyes to take a nap.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kushina had slipped down to the Kitchens to ask the house elves if they could prepare her a cake on October tenth with the writing being a bright orange on a dark blue background. She told them that it should state, 'Happy Birthday Naruto,' the elves happily agreed, they so rarely got birthday cake requests anymore. After that was done she headed back upstairs to the common room and her rooms, she greeted Karin with a ruffle of the younger girls black hair.

Karin swiped at the offending hand as she grumbled, "darn cousins who have to mess with the hair!" Kushina merely laughed before she entered her rooms to find Nobuyuki snoring quietly on the couch, he was completely ignoring the chicks cheeping plaintively up at him from the floor.

She smiled in amusement before she turned to Minato and asked, "how long has he been here?"

The blond haired man smiled at her cheerfully with dancing blue eyes before he said, "he arrived shortly after you left to see the house elves about Naruto's cake."

Her golden colored eyes lit up in amusement before she scooped up the three chirping chicks and placed them into her bedroom before she firmly shut the door to keep them in there. She then walked over to the couch before she reached down and tapped the slumbering cat lightly on the nose. He woke up with a light snort before he blinked blearily up at her, after a few moments he yawned widely and scratched behind his right ear with his back paw. "Hello, Mistress Kushina. How have you been," he asked after he had finished scratching his ear and stretched lightly.

She smiled fondly down at the eldest spy of the cheetah summons before she commented, "I'm fine, Nobu'-Kun. What brings you to my rooms? I wasn't expecting a report this soon after all."

Nobuyuki shook himself out before he answered her, "I'm not here to give you the report. As you are no doubt aware, Naruto's birthday is soon, the other cheetahs and I thought that some new clothes might be appreciated as a present…" He trailed off as he noticed her bewildered stare, he then looked down and muttered, "or perhaps something else could be found, maybe something just a bit more stealthy then what he has…"

To his surprise she laughed before she muttered, "sometimes, Nobuyuki, I think the cheetahs have been my personal summons for too long…" At his puzzled stare she elaborated, "I already chose to give him some new clothes for his birthday. Then when he graduates the academy I'll give him the Uzumaki clan uniform in our clan colors." She shrugged before she said casually, "I plan to tell him a bit about our clan when I give him the clan uniform."

Her gold eyes gleamed in mischief as she commented wickedly, "including how an Uzumaki was married to one of the founding Senju brothers. As well as his mothers, or rather my, old burden that he now carries, that is if he doesn't already know about it. If he does know about his burden I'll tell him how his mother coped with it."

Nobuyuki blinked before he nodded and said, "that will reassure him. It bothers him that he doesn't know much about either of his parents except for what you and we summons have told him about you two." The spy cocked his head to the side before he asked, "do you want us to look for some of your photo albums? You know, the pictures of you with Mikoto and her family, or perhaps of you and Minato as well as pictures of you with Sakumo?"

Kushina hummed in thought before she nodded decisively, "yes, go ahead and search for the albums. But bring them to me so I can look through them, I want to remove any pictures that might have us be lovey dovey to each other in them. The other pictures can stay as they aren't very incriminating, although Naruto might wonder just how close the fourth was to his mother to be in so many pictures and if no one remembers the White Fang he might wonder just who the white haired man is in so many pictures…" She smiled wryly before she quipped, "hopefully he won't think that Sakumo is his father. Although the look on Kakashi's face if he is asked by Naruto if he's his brother would be hilarious and I have no doubt that Sakumo would laugh about it if we did prank him like that!"

Nobuyuki stared at his mistress in amusement before he shook his head, his mistress had a strange relationship with the White Fang sometimes. He then said, "very well my mistress," with that he bowed to her and vanished with a puff of smoke.

Kushina snorted before she shook her head at the spy's antics, she then waved goodnight to Minato's portrait. She called out over her shoulder as she entered her bedroom, "goodnight Minato-kun!"

She heard him call back quietly, "goodnight, My Beloved."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The next morning, Kushina snuck down to Hogsmeade, she stopped by Gladrags and asked one of the assistance, "would it be possible for me to buy some bolts of fabric?"

The young assistant blinked a bit at the odd question before she said, "yes, if you wish to you can buy several bolts of fabric. Is there any particular color you are looking for?"

Kushina smiled at her cheerfully before she said, "yes actually I am!" The assitant pulled out a pad of paper to take down the colors and Kushina rattled them off, "one bolt of blood red. Four bolts each of black, charcoal grey, ice blue and sea green. I also need three bolts each of forest green, sunshine yellow, and maroon red as well as one bolt of sea foam white. I need several spools of the same colors of thread," she added absently, the assistant quickly jotted down the order.

As she started pulling the fabric down she asked, "do you need any particular spells or enchantments woven into the fabric?"

Kushina hummed before she asked, "can the fabric be spelled to grow with a child so that they wouldn't need to buy clothes so often? Also can the fabric be spelled so that an expansion charm be placed on the pockets after they've been sewn?"

The assistant looked down at the red haired witch before she said, "of course, all of our fabric can be spelled, it allows us to place cooling and warming charms into the fabric. We use Runes to place expansion charms on the clothes and it wouldn't be all that hard for someone to do the same at home." As she spoke she had continued to pull down the bolts of fabric from the niches hidden in the walls.

Kushina nodded before she smiled up at the assistant and said, "thanks. I'm making a few items of clothing for someone, the only reason I'm not going to let you sew the clothes is that the clothes are somewhat of a uniform that has been in his family for countless generations. I really don't think his family would appreciate someone outside of their clan knowing their secrets, the only reason I know is that I'm directly related to the family via my father so I'm allowed to know…"

The assistant nodded in understanding, some of the older families could be very peculiar about their family secrets after all. After Kushina paid for her order she then left the village to head back to Hogwarts, she ducked into the shrieking shack. After she had entered she shrunk her purchases, she then placed the shrunk packages into the seals that she'd sewn into her clothes. As she walked through the tunnel she shook her head and wondered why it hadn't dawned on her Papa that he was by all rights technically a grandfather… She told him before Sirius' innocence had been proven and before they had found her Dad alive, the only reason she hadn't told her Dad was because she wanted Kisuke to remember their child first.

As she reached the end of the tunnel she double checked to make sure that she had all of her bags placed away, she then reached up and pressed the knot. Once the tree had stilled she used Shunpo to reach past the tree line of the Forbidden Forest, she then walked out of the forest casually as if she had gone in to run around. Most of the school no longer even batted an eyelash over her going in and out of the forest, but all of the students knew that very few things could hurt her and none of those things lived in the Forbidden Forest.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

By the time October fifth, the first Hogsmeade weekend, had rolled around Kushina had finished all of Naruto's clothes. Out of the bolts of black, charcoal grey, ice blue and sea green she'd made five pairs of pants, six shirts, two jackets and four pairs each of arm and leg wraps. She had sewn the Uzumaki spiral on all of the clothes, she had also made him a forehead protector, it only needed the plate and it would be finished. She wrapped up each color set in excess fabric to be given to Naruto once he had graduated the Academy, she had also sewn him some new clothes for his birthday.

She had managed to get seven shirts, seven pants and two jackets each out of the bolts of forest green, maroon red and dark blue. The sunshine yellow produced six pants and shirts along with three jackets, she only made five shirts from the bolt of sea foam white. So the total of shirts was thirty-two, sixteen were regular shirts while the other sixteen were muscle shirts, there was twenty-seven pairs of pants and nine jackets, she'd wanted to make sure that her child had plenty of clothes to wear if any got torn.

She had tied his present in the traditional manner, she had sewn several protective runes into the fabric along with seals, the unicorns had donated some of their hair to use as the connecting stitches of certain articles of clothing. She had also sewn storage seals into all of the clothing, including on the back of the forehead protector that he wouldn't be getting for a while. She had sewn some repairing runes into the fabric so that if it did get torn it would repair itself, however the rune did have it's limits, she knew that Kurama could heal Naruto of life threatening wounds.

One of the reasons she had been so feared by the Shinobi of other countries was because every time they had thought that they'd managed to kill her, she'd merely reappear on a battle field laughing her head off at their shocked faces. Sakumo had found it hilarious that they were so afraid of her that they'd run away screaming in terror after they saw her get struck down by a life threatening wound and be back on her feet in mere minutes.

After she had finished wrapping Naruto's birthday presents she set them aside so she could easily grab them once she was ready to go. She then heard Minato clear his throat behind her and he said, "your friends wanted me to tell you that it's time to go."

She blinked a bit before she looked down at her watch before she swore in shock at the time, she then grabbed her money bag and ran out the door. She yelled over her shoulder at the almost fully fledged owl chicks, "be good you guys." She then raced out of the common room, she ruffled Karin's hair as she ran past her, she ran to the stairs and ran down them. She slid to a stop just at the edge of the Entrance Hall, she nodded to the three people waiting on her, Hermione was standing near the door reading a book while Ron was listening to Rukia explaining something to him.

As they exited the school they had to walk by Filch who checked their names against those allowed to go, he huffed slightly but allowed the four to pass him without comment. Rukia smiled sweetly at the irritable man before she walked past him, she followed her boyfriend out the door, Kushina glanced around before she asked, "where's Kenpachi?"

Hermione glanced over her shoulder at Kushina before she said, "Yachiru dragged him ahead of us. He's agreed to allow the four of us time to shop together before he drags me away from you."

Kushina smiled slyly before she commented, "oh, so he's planning to kidnap you then…"

Hermione blushed bright red before she glared at her while she asked sweetly, "and when are you going to meet up with Kisuke?"

She smirked at the red haired witch, who merely snickered as she said, "probably after he raids Honeyduke's. There is a reason he owns a store that sells candy after all… He has the worst sweet tooth that I've ever seen…"

Hermione stared at her and said, "you can't be serious… He can't be worse than Yachiru!"

Kushina stared at her skeptically before she muttered, "you'd be surprised…" She sighed and said grimly, "if you combine Yachiru's candy obsession with Papa's love for chocolate, you might, and I stress _might,_ come close to Kisuke's love for candy…" The students near the four gaped in shock, they had all met the blond haired man and couldn't believe it, after all Professor Lupin was well known for his love of the brown substance and after several visits of Yachiru's captain last year the students were also well acquainted with her love of candy.

Hermione shook her head in disbelief before she asked, "so where are we heading first?"

Ron looked up and said, "well all of us need parchment, quills and ink, so lets head to Dervish and Bangs first. Then we can stop by the new store that the twins opened up, we can stop by the bookstore for Hermione and your books, then we can hit Honeyduke's last for the candy." Both Kushina and Hermione hummed in agreement while walking over to the stationary store.

The four emerged with their necessary supplies, Hermione had picked up more rolls of parchment, same with Ron, Kushina picked up regular rolls of parchment as well as self rolling parchment. Kushina picked up some regular quills along with self inking quills that were also dictation quills, they then went to the bookshop where Hermione picked up some books and Kushina had grabbed a few for herself concerning Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Shortly after the four had left the stationary store, Rukia had received a page about a hollow nearby, so she split from them before she promised to meet up with them in front of the Three Broomsticks later on. Kushina had frowned lightly before she asked, "do you need backup?"

Rukia smiled and shook her head before she commented, "no, I can handle it. If I need back up there are plenty of Captain and Lieutenants at Hogwarts for me to call for backup if I need any."

After the candy shop the four split up to do some shopping for birthday and Christmas presents, Kushina bought a few things for the Uchiha clan since she would be visiting them during Christmas holidays as well as a present for Naruto and some of the Konoha Shinobi.

The three met back up in front of the Three Broomsticks, the trio had grabbed some pranking supplies in-between the bookstore and the candy shop. Kushina had teased Theodore and Lee while she was in the shop for bit but backed off at a mild glare from them both, she merely grinned at them before she left the store.

They had all barely met back up when Rukia had returned, she was just in time to see Kenpachi show up behind Hermione, he had a house elf take her bags back to Hogwarts. He then scooped up the startled witch, he gave a grin at them all before he raced out of Hogsmeade. A mere two minutes after Kenpachi had kidnapped Hermione, Kushina had Winky take her, Ron's and Rukia's bags back to Hogwarts, she had done that not a moment too soon. Because soon after ward Kisuke showed up behind her and picked her up. Kushina barely had time to give a startled yelp before Kisuke nodded to the pair cheerfully before he disappeared from sight, Winky giggled at the sight of her Mistresses chosen mate kidnapping her.

Rukia's lips twitched in amusement as she watched Captain Urahara tip his green and white striped hat to her and Ron before he used shunpo to vanish from sight with his Fiancée. She then glanced over at Ron to see him doubled over with laughter and clutching his ribs as if they greatly pained him from the force of his laughter. After he had calmed down she asked cheerfully, "shall we go to lunch? I worked up quite the appetite from cleansing that hollow." He grinned at her before he nodded in agreement while the occasional snicker escaped him, he then took her by the arm and led her cheerfully inside the Three Broomsticks for a quick lunch.

* * *

After Kenpachi had scooped up Hermione he had adjusted his grip on her so that he was holding her in bridal style, he had one arm under her knees and the second was half-way between her waist and her shoulders. She had gripped her wrists with the opposite hand behind his neck to lock her arms around it, she then blinked up at him with a startled expression on her face.

Thirty minutes after he scooped her up he set her down on her feet, as he set her on the ground she loosened her grip on him. She then stepped away from him to look around the large clearing in shock, she took note of the small lake nearby. After several moments of awe she looked over her shoulder at Kenpachi, she stopped and stared at him, he was seemingly setting up a picnic, as she watched him a slow pleased smile spread across her face.

Kenpachi looked up from where he was placing the last plate on the blanket beneath the large tree he had chosen to shade the spot. He blushed at the rather soft and fond look in her eyes as well as the sweet smile she was giving him. Before he had met her, if anyone had said that he had a softer side to him, everyone would have scoffed in disbelief. The very fact that she could scold him with a mere look and a soft murmur of his name had caused her to gain the respect normally only given to those of captain level or those who had fought Kenpachi and lived.

* * *

The very first time that Kenpachi's squad had seen him back down about something due to her had shocked them to the point that they had been gaping at her and it made them wonder just what she had done to gain his attention. Many women had tried to get it before her, however where they had failed at it she had somehow succeeded in gaining his full attention. What none of his division knew was that as soon as Kenpachi saw her for the first time, she had captivated his attention, although he had pretended not to notice her too much.

Three weeks after meeting her for the first time, the eleventh division got a clue just why she had succeeded where many had failed before. She had decided to visit him in the Seireitei, when she found him he was quite angry with several members of his squad and his Reiatsu was flaring in his anger. Most people were keeping their distance from the angry man, however Hermione had taken one look at the scene and promptly stalked up to him. Much to the stunned surprise of the onlookers, which included several captains and lieutenants, Hermione had reached up and removed his eye patch before she casually said, "calm down, Kenpachi. I'm sure that they are very sorry for whatever it was that they did and that they will never do it again…"

The rest of the onlookers who hadn't passed out from the force of his released Reiatsu stared in surprise that this slip of a mortal girl was standing that close to Kenpachi Zaraki. Especially since the only other people near him that were still standing was his lieutenant, his third and his fifth seated officers, Hermione was the only other person besides those three that was standing after that burst of Reiatsu, everyone else was passed out.

The head captain, who had shown up shortly before Hermione had removed the eye-patch, sighed and merely accepted the fact that Kenpachi was courting a human woman. He then decided that unless the courtship negatively affected the Shinigami's performance he would allow any courtship between a human and a shinigami. However so far all of the courtships seemed to be helping the shinigami with their jobs, Shunsui was actually doing his own paperwork. Byakuya had loosened up some, he had returned to the same disposition that he had before his wife had died which was a relief to most of his fellow captains. Yumichika had pretty much kept a steady rate of work and Kushina seemed to help Kisuke's creativity instead of hampering it, and Rukia Kuchiki had improved so much that even her brother was recommending promotion to Lieutenant of her division.

* * *

Kenpachi cocked his head to the right and held out his left hand to Hermione, she took it allowing the scared man to pull her down onto the blanket. Her eyes lit up at seeing her favorite picnic foods laid out before her, the two dug into the food demolishing it quickly. They drank Butterbeer with the sandwiches and other side dishes, after all of the meal was finished, Kenpachi reached into the basket and pulled out two slices of red velvet cake with a white chocolate cream cheese icing. After the pair had finished off the desert they packed the dirty dishes away into the basket, they then moved the blanket to beside the lake.

The pair laid back onto the blanket, Hermione was resting her head on Kenpachi's chest over his heart and together they watched the clouds rolling by. After several silent moments of cloud watching, Hermione asked, "how did your squad take it when they found out you were courting a human?"

Kenpachi blinked a bit at the odd question before he rumbled, "at first they didn't take it well. However after they found out that I was courting you they changed their minds about it and instead congratulated me on my choice… I really don't get it…"

To his delight she started laughing at that, after several moments of laughter she managed to gasp out, "who knows how they think… So long as they won't make a fuss about it!"

Kenpachi grinned at her laughter before he quipped, "if you thought that was funny you should have see Ikkaku's reaction to finding out that I'm the one who recommended him to be the captain of the fifth division!"

She giggled as she pictured the outraged and shocked look that would have crossed the bald man's face at the knowledge that his own captain had recommended that he be promoted. Kenpachi grinned manically at the laughter coming from the brown eyed girl that way lying on his chest, he sat up resting all of his weight on his right forearm and looked down at the smiling woman next to him. He then asked, "how are your parents? Do you know where they decided to have their vacation this Christmas?"

Hermione smiled up at him, she was happy that he had asked how her parents were much less what they were going to be doing for the upcoming holidays even though her parents made him nervous. She sat up and with dancing brown eyes said, "as of their last letter they are fine. They hope that you and Yachiru are well, they plan to take a cruise then stay in Australia for a little while, I think they want to visit the Sydney coastline, it is rather beautiful after all…" She then poked him in the side and said playfully, "they said you better be taking good care of me or else…"

He chuckled nervously before he asked, "what else are they up too?" He then listened intently to her as he ran his fingers through her hair, he had already decided to ask a certain question of her parents during the next summer. However, no matter their answer to him, in the end it would be the sole decision that was given by the brown eyed girl at his side.

* * *

Kisuke murmured into Kushina's right ear, "close your eyes, my dear." Although puzzled by his request she followed it without question and in what felt like almost an hour later he set her down. He then said cheerfully, "you can open your eyes now, my dearest muse."

She blinked her eyes after she opened them, her eyes had gotten used to the darkness and thus she need to let them adjust to the brightness. She gaped in shock at what surrounded her and then took a few tentative steps forward to the large temple in front of her. After several minutes she whirled around to ask him, "how did you do this?"

He looked at her from underneath his hat while his bright blue eyes twinkled in amusement at her obvious surprise and delight. He opened his fan and said as he walked toward her, "as it turns out, one of the families that married into the Potter family left this to a particular descendant. During one of his trips to Gringotts your father found out you inherited this island and a vault, although you cannot access the vault until you are married you can use this island as much as you wish. His only restriction beside the vault access age was that the temple must stay maintained as it is now." He then closed his fan sharply before he lightly tapped the statue on the right side of the entrance of the temple. As he tapped the statue he said with a sardonic twist to his mouth, "rather ironic don't you think?"

Kushina ran her fingers lightly over the statues left arm before she said with a hint of a smile, "yes, it is rather ironic I suppose… how come this place is in such good condition?" As she asked the question she glanced at him curiously, to no surprise to her he was smiling smugly at her.

He clapped his hands together before a house elf appeared in front of them, it was dressed in a toga. It bowed to them before it said, "the Master called for me? How may I serve you and our Mistress, Master?" Kushina recognized the rather shrill pitch to be that of belonging to either a female house elf or a very young elf, as well as being surprised by the elf's rather better speech than most elves had.

At the surprised look on Kushina's face the house elf smiled knowingly before she said, "you've never met an educated elf before have you? Or at least a formally educated elf. When the owner of this island and temple hid them from the destruction of the old temples by the Christens he gave the house elves a standing order to remain educated as well to keep the island and temples in perfect condition. The villages on the island were included in the order, we were also to be educated as high priests and priestesses of the temples."

Kushina's eyes lit up in delight before she asked, "how old does a house elf have to be before they can no longer be taught?"

The house elf blinked up at her new mistress, even though the mistress had yet to bond to them, she then said, "even very old elves can learn. Although the ability to learn will be limited the older an elf gets, why do you ask?"

Kushina grinned down at her before she said with her golden eyes twinkling in excitement, "I have three elves that I would like to take lessons in how to speak properly and proper etiquette. Two of the three should still be young enough to learn most of the lessons, the third might be too old to learn most of it but I'd still like for him to try."

The elf stared up at her in shock before she cocked her head to the right at the woman who would hopefully bond with them all and asked, "do you want us to teach them?"

Kushina nodded before she asked hesitantly, "do you want to bond with me or would you prefer someone else?"

The little elf bowed before she said formally, "we would all be delighted to bond with you. We haven't had a master or mistress for many a moon, not for over three hundred years. Our last master had the sight, he foresaw that one of his descendants would love and protect this island along with the temples with all her heart and soul. Thus he left all of is possessions to her and her alone…" The elf frowned before she murmured, "he never explained why you would love this island so much…"

Kushina smiled down at her before she said while thrusting her arm to the side, "spread thy wings and bare thy blade. Arise before me, my warrior." With a flash of darkness Thanatos appeared beside his Mistress, his wings were mantled on either side of him. His dark hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and he looked through his bangs with glowing supernatural blue eyes.

He then stood up smoothly before he looked over at his mistress and said blankly, "you called for me, my Lady?"

Kushina reached up and ran her fingers through his bangs, parting so she could see his eyes clearly. She then smiled at him and ran the back of the same fingers down his right cheek before she said to the house elf, "this is why I would protect this place with all of my heart and soul.

The elf gaped at the pair, she recognized the winged man immediately, a statue of the man was on the right side of the temple entrance. Then with a puff of sand another man appeared beside her new Mistress and the elf gaped even more as this man had a statue on the left side of the temple entrance.

Kushina glanced over at Anubis and raised her left eyebrow at him due to the way he looked. His left ear was cocked to the side while the other rotated to listen behind him, he then said, "good day, My Lady." He then glanced around before he looked at her oddly and asked, "where are we, my Lady?"

She pointed behind him at the smiling blond haired mad inventor before she said, "ask him, he dropped this place on me all of the sudden as a surprise." Kisuke had folded his fan and placed it in a seal that Kushina had sewn inside of his Haori sleeve. He cheerfully smiled at them before he walked into the temple while gesturing for them to follow him inside.

The two men shrugged before they followed their mistress who had obeyed her fiancé's request to follow him. The four reemerged from the temple a few hours later to find many house elves waiting in the clearing around the temple. The first female elf stepped forward and said, "I forgot to introduce myself earlier. I am Fiana and the ones standing behind me are the high priests and priestesses of the other temples." The other elves bowed to her and the three men. Thanatos and Anubis drew closer to their wielder while Kisuke retrieved his fan and snapped it open.

Kushina lightly shoved the two overprotective spirits before she said, "I'm glad to meet you all of you. Have many of you wish to bond to me?"

The house elves blinked in unison before they started whispering to each other then several minutes later Fiana stepped forward and said, "all of the elves on the island have indicated a wish to bond with you along with their families."

Kushina held back a slight sigh before she asked carefully, "is there a way to bond to all of them collectively? Or do I have to bond with each elf individually?"

Fiana giggled before she said, "you can bond either individually or you can bond entire elf families to you. Bonding to the entire family is less stressful though and it can be done as a mass bonding unlike the individual bondings."

Kushina couldn't hold back the sigh of relief this time before she asked, "how do you do a mass bonding? I've only bonded to a single house elf not an entire family before." Thanatos and Anubis were leaning against their respective statues while Kisuke was playing around with a pad of paper and scribbling madly away. Kushina and both spirits were pointedly ignoring the blond haired man, it was times like this that she really missed her partner.

Sakumo would have smirked at her before he rolled his eyes at Minato's antics which would have made her laugh. Every Shinobi that had been partnered with the pair or had encountered the pair on a mission had sworn that the two were reading each others minds. They didn't use any visible form of communication between them, they didn't speak nor did they use hand signs, it appeared to everyone that they simply knew each other so well that they could predict each others movements.

It had been uncanny the way their written reports would flow seamlessly together for a single detailed report. After Sakumo's death Kushina had been placed as an ANBU trainer instead of an active operative, she had been removed due to her having lost her usual partner and it was deemed imprudent to try and get her used to another partner. This was done after she had completed many missions after his death, although not one mission failed she had returned with grave injuries that even the Kyuubi had trouble healing. After five time of this happening the third Hokage had decided to allow her to train an ANBU team, she had been allowed to choose who she trained for the team.

In the end she had chosen Ibiki Morino, Inochi Yakamana and Shikaku Nara, though many doubted her choice for choosing Ibiki she had muttered, "he'll do perfectly. You will all agree with my assessment one day, just you wait and see about that." The Hokage's idea to have her train an ANBU team to keep her mind off of her grief had worked perfectly, however she refused to replace her partner and requested that she be marked as solo mission only. The Hokage had reluctantly agreed but told her that if her missions started going poorly again he'd make her retire permanently.

When the village council had tried to force her to take another partner she had merely sneered at them before she said scathingly, "I have only one person that I would trust as my partner left now. That person is Minato Namikaze, I refuse to replace my ANBU partner of Wolf. Sakumo Hatake was my partner, my fitted half on the field of battle, we were a perfect pair, we never once failed a mission together. I don't know why you didn't wait until I was back in the village to send him on the mission, nor do I truly want to know. But I do know this… if I had been with him the mission wouldn't have failed and you wouldn't be pressuring me to take another partner. If I had been with him Konoha would still have its White Fang, now the village is down to only it's Crimson Blade and Yellow Flash, the trio is no more now." With that she had turned and stalked out the doorway, she made her way to the Hyuga compound and challenged them to a sparing match. Three hours later she felt better but several of the main branch now had smaller egos since they had been beaten by her.

Kushina was shaken out of her memories as Fiana said, "we can begin the bonding as soon as you are ready. As for how to do a mass bonding that's easy, instead of you touching one of us, all of us will touch you. You'll ask us if we are willing to bond ourselves and our families to you, if we answer yes they you will state that you agree to bond our families to your line."

Kushina hummed before she nodded and said, "well I guess we can do this now… Could you call the other heads of the families here, please, Fiana?"

Fiana giggled before she gestured at the multitude of elves around her and said, "they're already here."

The red haired witch blinked before she said, "oh, well lets get started then, shall we?" Thanatos, Anubis and Kisuke watched as Kushina stepped into the middle of the circle of house elves, thus allowing them to be able to reach her easily. The three males watched as the elves and Kushina exchanged the traditional words of binding to bond the elves to Kushina's family. With a flash of light the group disappeared from sight, when the men could see the group again the elves were giddy while Kushina was swaying tiredly.

Before she could crumple to the ground in exhaustion Kisuke caught her and cradled her in his arms against his chest. The elves gathered around their new Mistress and her chosen mate worriedly, however after Kisuke checked her over he sighed in relief before he announced, "she's fine. Just exhausted and sleeping soundly due to that," he brushed her bangs out of her eyes and she stirred sleepily. The elves sighed in relief at his comment but they were still confused, she shouldn't have collapsed like that.

Fiana cocked her head to the right before she said in confusion, "she shouldn't have been that exhausted even with bonding all of us and our families to her. The ritual doesn't require that much energy if a person doesn't exceed a certain energy level, at her age she should still have a relatively small reservoir… The only way she could be this exhausted is if she has a larger reservoir than normal and didn't know when to stop the feed of energy…"

The two Zanpakuto spirits glanced at each other before they sighed and Anubis said thoughtfully, "she always had a huge amount of energy. Enough that she could throw spells, Kido and jutsus for far longer than her enemies ever expected she could…" he trailed of meaningfully at that.

Kisuke nodded in agreement before he murmured, "you're right about that. Tessai and Hachi were startled by how long she could keep up a volley of kido spells." Kisuke then looked up at Fiana before he asked, "is there someplace she can lie down for a while?"

Fiana lit up at his question and nodded eagerly before she said cheerfully, "oh, yes. There is a village nearby, it's in that direction," she pointed to the north before she continued with, "no one has been there since the wards were placed. However it is in perfect condition as that was part of the order given to the house elves of the island, all of the villages must be perfectly maintained. We've been very careful at keeping it in perfect condition, she can stay in the Mayor's villa in the master suite of course." With that she lead the four through the woods to the north until they had reached an early Roman to Late Greek era village and up a large hill to a sprawling villa.

After leading the men through the villa to the master suite Fiana disappeared back to the temple, she said, "the elves of the village will prepare a feast in honor of our new Mistress and her guests. It will be ready in about two hours," she gave them all a bow and vanished from sight.

Kisuke laid Kushina back on the bed and covered her in a light blanket. He then stood up to leave the room after he had adjusted the blanket over her and brushed her bangs behind her ears. She nuzzled his hand briefly before she slipped deeper into slumber, he then exited the room. Thanatos and Anubis were leaning against the wall waiting for their mistresses mate to return from putting her to bed, they looked up when he emerged from the room.

Kisuke smiled at the waiting spirits before he said, "she'll be fine, we should let her sleep for a while until it's time to eat. She should be more hungry than a female dragon is while brooding." Both spirits sighed in relief before they disappeared back into their mistresses inner world to wait for her to awaken. Kisuke smiled and chuckled before he turned to walk back into the bedroom to wait for his Fiancée to wake up from her exhaustion induced nap.

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On October Tenth Kushina had summoned a Clone after dinner to take over teaching the Shinigami Arts Class, Kushina then snuck out of the school via Dobby who had teleported her to the outskirts of Konoha. She then snuck inside the village through the access tunnels that the Uchiha Clan escaped through, she made her way to Naruto's apartment, she had greeted the three cheetahs watching over her son with a scratch behind their ears and under their chins before she knocked on the window to get Naruto's attention. He beamed at the sight of her and let her through the window, she made her way to the kitchen after she ruffled his blond locks, she set the birthday cake on the counter as he pouted and whined at her, "don't do that, Ryuu-Okasan!"

She chuckled from behind the snarling mask at his whining, _'sometimes you really do resemble your father just a little too much, my Naru-Chan… Although I will admit that most of your personality resembles mine just a tad too much for the villages peace of mind, especially my love of Ramen. However your looks and your extreme love of the color orange belongs solely to your father.'_ She snorted before she thought to herself, _'how the village can be so blind to the way that you look almost identical to your father is far beyond me.'_ She grinned viciously behind the mask as a very wicked thought went through her head and she held in a cackle, ' _they will rue the day that Kisuke remembers being Minato and the two of us return to the village!'_ Her eyes twinkled down at him before she said cheerfully, while Dobby hid the cake from Naruto's sight, "Happy Birthday, Naru-Chan!"

The golden haired boy gaped up at the masked woman before he blushed and sniffled slightly as he said, "thank you Ryuu-Okasan."

She looked up at him due to the slight sniffling she had heard come from him and her frown deepened at the grateful look on his face. She then looked around the apartment to try and find any signs that he hadn't been totally alone on his birthday, she saw a pair of cups sitting on the table and gave a silent sigh of relief. She then walked over and tapped the second glass before she said, "I see you had a visitor before me. Who dropped by to see you, Little One?"

Naruto blinked a bit before he smiled happily at her and exclaimed, "Old Man Hokage visited me earlier in the morning and Iruka-Sensei left shortly before you dropped by!" His smile got even wider as he said, "wait here," he then ran into his room and she heard him opening a drawer before he shut in and ran back to her. Clutched in his hand was a frog shaped wallet and he held it up to her with a gleeful smile before he said, "Iruka-Sensei gave me this for my birthday." Naruto smiled down at the wallet before he said with a chirping voice, "I'm going to call it Gama-Chan."

Kushina laughed at his enthusiasm for the small gift and was inwardly pleased that the little dolphin was visiting her son on his birthday, she was even more pleased by the fact that the dolphin was one of his teachers and was kind enough to give him a present. She was even more please that Sarutobi was visiting her and Minato's son to check up one him, she inwardly giggled at the thought of him being called Old Man by Naruto.

"So you haven't been too lonely on your birthday then," she asked casually while skillfully hiding the gaudy orange candles she was putting on the cake in front of her. She placed eleven of them on the cake carefully keeping to the edges of the cakes decorative picture, she then said over her shoulder to the highly curious child, "sit down at the table."

As she had placed the candles on the cake Naruto had answered her question with a quietly murmured, "no I haven't been too lonely. It's much better than the years before you started coming by…" At her command for him to sit he gave her an odd look but obeyed her order since not once had she ever hurt him nor had she ever threatened him. In fact she often protected him or as the cheetahs were concerned gave him a way to protect himself if she couldn't be there to do so herself. She also made sure he was well taken care of by bonding him to Dobby so that Dobby could take care of him personally, so he sat down at his kitchen table and waited for her to be done with whatever it was that she was doing.

She looked between the patiently waiting child and the cake she was still hiding from him before she said, "close your eyes for me, please, Naru-Chan."

He shrugged but did as she bade by closing his eyes and waiting for her to tell him to open them, she quietly placed the cake in front of him then lit the candles. Once she was sure all of them were lit and ready to be blown out she leaned down and whispered in his ear, "you can open your eyes now."

He opened his eyes slowly and when he saw the cake presented in front of him, he gaped in shock. The cake had been decorated and had the Hokage Monument on the top while written below the monument was the words, 'Happy Eleventh Birthday Naruto!' Along one of the longer sides of the cake was written, 'we hope you have many more to come,' while written just above the monument was written, 'Never lose your will of Fire!' The writing was in the same gaudy orange as the candles while the picture looked like the monument did on a perfect cloudless day in the summertime.

Kushina smiled happily at the gob-smacked expression on her son's face at the sight of the cake before she said cheerfully, "well, what are you waiting for? Blow out the candles and make a wish already!" She flicked him lightly on the forehead with a finger before she said in a mock stern tone, "just be sure to carefully think out what you are wishing. For as a person outside the barrier once said, 'be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.'"

Naruto grinned up at her before he shut his eyes and thought carefully to himself before he mentally murmured his wish while blowing out the candles, 'I wish that I could get to know my family someday.' Kushina watched him blow out the candles and bit her lower lip, to her delight all of the candles went out with the first try, that meant the wishing candles could fulfill Naruto's wish. If they couldn't have granted it then at least one would have remained lit after the first try, she sighed silently in relief before she set a knife down next to the cake and quipped, "since it's your birthday. You get to cut the first slice of cake."

With that Naruto beamed up at her and picked up the knife to cut the first slice of cake, to her surprise instead of taking it for himself Naruto gave her the first piece and then cut one for Dobby, who beamed at his little master, as he called him. Kushina took the knife from Naruto before he cut himself a piece and she made sure he got a large slice of cake. The three then ate the slices of cake and as Kushina was washing the plates and forks along with the knife she asked, "do you want to hear about some of the pranks your mother pulled on Konoha along with the help of one of her friends?" She then smiled slyly before she asked casually, "or would you prefer to open your present from me and the cheetahs before hearing the pranks?"

Naruto stared at her in shock before he asked, "you got me a present?" When she smiled at him and nodded he grinned and said, "present then story please!" She laughed before she pulled out the packages from the seals inside of her sleeves, she then placed them in front of him, he opened the packages and he gaped at the clothes inside of the packages. He then looked up at her and said, "thanks! I was getting a little tired of orange jumpsuits, so these are perfect." He gave her a hug before grabbing as much clothing that he could carry and ran to his room to put up his new pants, shirts and jackets. Kushina laughed before she picked up the rest of the clothes and followed him, she found him folding his pants and putting them in the bottom drawer of his dresser. She shook her head before she grabbed some hangers and placed the shirts and jackets on them, she handed him the rest of the pants to fold.

After the clothes were put away she herded him back to the living area and had him sit down on the couch before she murmured to herself, "where to start, or rather with which prank to start with…" She suddenly grinned and after she snapped her fingers together she said, "I've got it!" With that she began to gleefully tell Naruto about a prank his mother played along with her best friend on the ANBU headquarters at the tender age of thirteen. Naruto listened to her in fascination as she told him about the most well known pranks his mother played on the residents of Konoha, she kept silent about the pranks she played on the enemy nin she had come across. She included the prank she had played on the Hyuga Clan Council, whenever anyone had asked how she had managed it she would merely grin at them and that grin always seemed to say, 'that is a secret!'

After two hours of her telling him stories, Naruto started to nod off during the storytelling, or rather prank telling. So Kushina smiled as she shook his shoulder to wake him up and said, "I think it's time for you to head to bed, Little One."

Naruto stared blearily up at her before he pouted and whined to her, "but I wanna hear more stories about my mom!"

She chuckled lightly as she urged him into his bedroom and promised, "I'll tell you some more about her later. However, you need to go to bed, you were falling asleep halfway through a story. I'd rather have you awake and appreciating your mothers genius, when it came to pranks your mother had few equals…"

As she spoke Naruto changed into his pajamas sleepily, she then tucked him into bed and sat beside him on the bed. She ran her fingers through his hair as she hummed a lullaby, he quickly fell asleep and she made sure he was tucked in before she rose from the bed. She then went into the kitchen and cut up the rest of the cake to put it away in the fridge, she then left a note to her son about when she'd be able to visit again. She wrote that she'd try to visit him around Christmas, she then slipped out of the apartment and made her way to the village that the Uchiha were staying in.

She was a bit surprised to find that it was still daylight since Naruto fell asleep so easily, however one of the cheetahs who was running part of the way with her told her that he had been training before she had gotten there. The only reason he had been home was the fact that his teacher had seen him training and made him go home to rest. She snorted before she nodded goodbye to the cheetah as it continued further on while she diverted to the east. The guards of the entrance let her pass without comment due to her visiting earlier in the year, as she made her way through the village she took note of the bewildered and slightly perturbed looks she was getting from most of the Clan. However both Fukaku and Mikoto both greeted her with a smile, the pair was far too used to her pulling off impossible things, or very hard to accomplish things as she put it, to even be surprised at how she had been reincarnated.

The three sat down and discussed what the clan had been up to since she last visited them, Kushina told the pair how Naruto's training was going. She also told them what the cheetahs had seen of their youngest son, and how he was doing in his training. Although the pair were pleased with his progress and how he was quickly becoming the prodigy of his class they were worried about how he seem to be obsessed with killing Itachi.

An hour after Kushina arrived it was nearing dusk, she remarked, "it's getting a bit dark. I probably better head back soon," she sighed a bit before she stood up and made to leave the porch.

Mikoto's eyes lit up and she stood up as she said, "wait a minute, Kushina! I almost forgot to tell you," at Kushina's curious glance the dark haired woman elaborated, "some of the boys found a cavern to the north near the sea. We've discovered something, but none of us can puzzle out what it is, it seems to be written in code…" She cocked her head to the left and pleaded, "could you take a look real quick and see if you can figure out what it is?"

Kushina blinked a bit and wondered to herself, ' _that's strange I don't remember hearing any stories about a cavern near the second village… Maybe they just didn't talk about it anymore…'_ She then nodded and said, "sure, I'll take a look at it. But I'll warn you I don't remember anyone talking about a cavern near this village…" With that she gestured for Mikoto and Fukaku to lead the way to this cavern.

The cavern was in a hard to get to area, hard to get to that is if you aren't a ninja, it was nestled in a sheer cliff face and the entrance wasn't visible from most angles. If you stood right in front of it you might not even be able to see it, the hole turned into a tunnel that ending in a large cavern, all along the cavern walls were lines and symbols. The pattern was familiar and Kushina gaped at it in shock, she stepped forward and reached out to touch the wall, as her fingertips grazed the wall all of the lines and symbols etched into it lit up.

To the surprise of the Uchiha's watching the symbols transformed into recognizable writing, the symbols now spelled out names and dates, some names were written in blue however most of the names were written in purple an very few were written in red writing. Kushina murmured in shock and the entire group watching gaped at her when her words reached their ears, "a self-updating family tree of the Uzukagerare village…" She blinked a bit before she added in an amused tone, "not to mention a family tree for each of the people allied with the village…"

As she traced the lines of two of the closest allies to the Uzumaki clan besides those based in Konoha she frowned, they now only had one name written in blue each, and one of the names attached to one was written in black. The color black meant only one thing in the family records, that meant whoever this person was he not only betrayed the Uzumaki clan, he had betrayed his family to death. However by his name was the mark of revenge served, that mean whoever he had betrayed had killed him for it, she smirked knowingly, at least he hadn't lived long after betraying whoever it was.

She sighed in disappointment, those two clans were some of the most loyal supporters, they would have guarded her son viciously if they had known he existed, the last of the Uzumaki clan to bear the name… They had both sworn an oath to the clan that so long as the Uzumaki clan existed they would forever be their allies and would never knowingly turn their weapons nor attack a Clan member. The very oath would prevent them from either harming or killing an Uzumaki Clan member, knowingly that is. The two clans had once be huge and very prosperous, to have them reduced to such a low number was disheartening, perhaps, just perhaps the two clans could be revitalized…

Kushina turned to Mikoto and asked her, "could you have some of your clan write down the names and dates of the people in the tree, if possible write down their status as well. If you can find those who are still alive and let them know about Naruto's existence, most of them would gladly protect him outside of the village, let them know that a new head of the Clan will be returning to Konoha in about a year or two."

Mikoto nodded and replied, "of course, I'm sure several of the youngsters that was born shortly before the Kyuubi attack would be willing to do so. How will we know what their status is?" She stared at her friend in confusion as she asked.

Kushina sighed before she explained, "blue means that they are alive and have sworn the oath to protect the Uzumaki clan, red means that they swore the oath but broke it. Purple means that they swore the oath and kept it until their death, any name written in black means that they betrayed the Clan somehow, or that they killed a clan member or an ally of the clan. If they have this symbol," she pointed at the symbol by the name above the only blue name in a line, "that means that the person was killed and the deceased member was avenged." She looked around at the clan members and asked, "does everyone understand that?"

They all nodded and Kushina smiled at them gratefully, "thank you."

Mikoto looked at her friend and said, "you don't need to thank us Kushina. Is there anything else we can do for you?"

Kushina shook her head before she remarked quietly, "no that's it. I better head back to Hogwarts before it gets dark and someone wonders where I am." The pair nodded goodbye to the red haired woman before she pulled a scythe out of no where and slashed it through the air, to their surprise a portal appeared, she waved goodbye to the clan members before she entered the dark portal and vanished.


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Of Birthdays and Hallowe'en Balls

**Chapter Fourteen:** **Of Birthdays and Hallowe'en Balls**

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Three days after Naruto's birthday, Kushina had a thought, though it inwardly made her cringe. She made her way to the Headmaster's office, Fawkes had chirped a greeting to her as she walked in, Albus looked up in relief. He beamed a smile at her before he asked eagerly, "what can I do you for you, Kushina?"

To his surprise she grinned back at him and said teasingly while she sat down in front of his desk, "actually, it's more of what I can do for you." At his puzzled look she elaborated, "I had an idea, I'm sure you remember the Yule ball that was held two years ago. Right?"

Albus frowned slightly before he laced his fingers together and remarked offhandedly, "yes, of course I remember, as it was I who organized it after all. I also recall that the girls were particularly delighted about the Ball. However, what does that have to do with your idea?"

Kushina smirked at him before she got up from her seat and began to pace the room, as she paced she said, "simple. What if we had a Ball for Hallowe'en? You know, the kind where everyone dresses up in costumes, where everyone dresses up as someone they're not…"

Albus grinned at the idea that she had just presented to him, he then commented, "you mean, of course, a Masquerade Ball."

Kushina fell down into the chair as she snapped her finger and grinned while she said, "that's the one." She then paused thoughtfully before she commented slowly with a sly smirk, "how about if the Professors have to dress up as well but don't truly get to pick their costumes…"

Albus blinked in confusion before he asked in a politely puzzled tone, "what do you mean by that, my dear?"

Her golden eyes twinkled madly at him as she explained her idea, "what if we have the students submit ideas of costumes. We can then put these ideas, written obviously, into a cauldron, or a hat or something similar… Then each Professor that is chaperoning the Ball can choose a single slip of paper out of the container, whatever is on the slip is what they dress up as for the Ball."

Albus smiled bemusedly at her all through the explanation, as she reached the point of how the Professors would chose their costumes, he nodded and when she finished explaining he said, "that sounds reasonable enough. As it is the thirteenth, that leaves eighteen days to prepare for the Ball, I would say that the Professors should choose their costumes as soon as they can. That way they can not only get their costumes ready but also prepare the castle for the ball," he then raised his eyebrows at her questioningly at her before he enquired, "does that sound good to you?"

She grinned at him before she said, "sounds perfect to me, I'll let the rest of the students know about it after dinner tonight." With that she rose from her seat again, she then headed for the door, after she had given both the Headmaster and Fawkes a nod goodbye she exited the door silently.

As she walked down the hallway she saw Theodore talking quietly with Blaise about something or other. As she approached the pair she whistled lowly to get their attention, both of them looked up at the low whistle and nodded a greeting to the red haired witch. The pair looked puzzled as she stopped beside them as she murmured quietly, "I'm going to call an Inter-house meeting tonight. Spread the word that everyone needs to meet in the Room of Requirement after dinner. Trust me…" She smirked up at them before she gleefully said, "it'll be well worth any inconvenience," as she walked away from them they heard her cackling softly.

As she walked away she heard as Blaise remarked, "you know, there's sometimes I wonder just what it was that Voldemort was thinking by taking her on. I mean, she routinely spars with Captain Zaraki, she took on a dragon with nothing more than her broomstick and her wits in her fourth year. She runs around in the forbidden forest all the time with Merlin knows what in there, she's allowed to play with new born Unicorn foals and her chosen mate is a mad scientist that makes the Weasley twins look like they have absolutely no imagination whatsoever."

As she paused in the hall and leaned against the wall she heard as Theo commented, "and your point would be…"

Blaise's shocked tone rang out from behind her and she smirked at the words, "my point being that he's is nuts if he honestly thinks he can kill her!" She then heard him snort in derision before he scathingly said, "anyone who kneels or grovels before him should remember that he's tried and failed to kill her no less than four times now. If he's so powerful, the just how powerful does that make her if she has been able to escape him so often?"

Theo sighed before he said in a thoughtful tone, "you have a very good point about that…" He snorted before she heard a slap against cloth, she could only assume that one of them had smacked the other on the shoulder or such like. She herself was leaning against the stone wall along the corridor, just out of sight of the two boys, after the slap that she just heard, Theo said, "lets spread the word around about the meeting tonight. Malfoy isn't going to want to miss this… Can you believe how mellow he's gotten? I mean after he made that truce with the Gryffindor's it's as if he's not even in the school!" She snorted quietly as she pushed away from the wall and made her way to the Ravenclaw common room to inform them about the meeting.

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Later that night the fourth through seventh years of all four houses made their way to the seventh floor and the Room of Requirement. They were waiting for Kushina to show up and announce why she called for a meeting, she rarely called for an inter-house meeting of this size after all. As they waited they discussed among themselves what she could have called the meeting for, speculations ran rampant and some of the theories were completely absurd if you knew her well. One of the theories said that she was going to call off the prank they had planned for the Professors, another said that she was going to suggest pranking the dark lord and his Death eaters, even if the ministry didn't believe Kushina about the Dark Lord's return the rest of the students did.

Thus when she walked into the room all of the students gathered in the Room of Requirement fell into complete silence. Kushina raised an eyebrow at the quiet students as she gazed at them thoughtfully before she wryly remarked, "you know… It's usually considered an ominous thing to walk into a room full of gossiping people then have it fall into a hushed silence as soon as you set foot in it."

Ginny laughed and retorted from her position by Hermione, "not for you." The fifteen year old red haired girl then shrugged before she commented, "besides they were only wondering what you called this little soiree for."

Kushina snorted before she stalked toward the front of the room, as she approached the desk she said, "have a seat everyone. This meeting will probably take a while to conclude."

At that announcement everyone looked at each other in puzzlement, the boys who had been in Hogwarts during her second year recognized the tone of voice she had used however. It was the same tone that she'd used during the meeting she had called so that the students could drive Lockhart mad by pranking the living hell out of him. As they took their seats Kushina settled into the chair behind the large desk as they stared expectantly at her she had interlaced her fingers together and rested them against her mouth to hide her smirk.

After several tense moments she cleared her throat before she began, "I'm quite certain that all of you remember the Yule Ball held during my fourth year, which was of course from September of nineteen ninety-four to June of nineteen ninety-five…" She trailed off while staring at them expectantly, she stared at them until she had either heard a murmured confirmation or had seen a nod that they remembered it. She grinned at that before she remarked in an offhand tone, "I just convince the Headmaster to hold another ball, this time the Ball will be held on Hallowe'en." She then smirked before she continued with the comment of, "the ball will be a costumed ball and the Professors that will be chaperoning the Ball will also be required to dress up."

At her first statement everyone in the room gaped at her in shock, she hadn't liked the Yule Ball at all, the boys in the room had inwardly groaned in despair while some of the girls were excited for another chance to get dressed up. However at her announcement that the ball was not only costumed but that the Professors would also have to dress up even Hermione gaped at Kushina in shock. Kushina chuckled darkly before she said, "it'll be somewhat our choice as to what their costumes are going to be." At that Ginny raised her right hand and Kushina asked with a sigh, "you have a question to ask, Ginny?"

The only born female Weasley nodded as she lowered her hand and asked, "what do you mean that it will be somewhat our choice as to what they dress up as?"

Kushina leaned back against the chair and with a twinkle in her gleaming gold eyes said, "because we're going to write down our suggestions for costumes. Those choices will be placed into a cauldron, or a hat or other such object, the professors will then have to reach into the receptacle and pull out a single choice, once their choice has been made they cannot chose another." Ginny blinked in shock at that along with the entire room, Kushina continued with, "we, of course, will have nothing except ourselves to dictate our costume choice. Unless of course you want someone to choose for you, however that would be your decision not ours, not an order."

At that everyone in the room stared at her in complete silence and blinked in astonishment, after several moments of having her classmates, some of whom happened to also be her students, staring at her in disbelief Kushina cleared her throat again. She then said cheerfully, "I called this little party because I wanted to A: generate ideas for the professors costumes and B: make sure no two ideas were the exact same." At the continued blank stares she was getting from the other students she glared at then and growled, "in other words start giving me your ideas!"

Some of the more easily frightened students yelped before they all began tossing ideas out at her, as they tossed out the ideas Kushina wrote them out on the chalkboard at the front of the room. After close to thirty ideas Kushina laughed and said, "okay I think that's enough ideas, after all I don't think we have that many professors!"

Although there were a few grumbles from the students they obeyed her as she said, "alright, that's enough. You guys can all head back to your common rooms, I'll drop our ideas to the headmaster as soon as I've written them on scraps of parchment." She then shook her head at some of the ideas that her fellow students had come up with for costume ideas for the professors as she was writing them all down on scraps of parchment. She chuckled lightly as she gathered up the slips and made her way to the Headmasters office, since it wasn't even curfew yet she knew she would find him there and sure enough he was glaring down at the pile of paperwork on his desk.

"I see you have yet to defeat your dreaded nemesis," she quipped lightly as she entered the room on silent feet.

He looked up from his task he was clearly startled by her appearance, he had been far too distracted by his staring contest with the pile of parchment that stood in his way for a good nights sleep. "Kushina, what brings you to my office at this hour," Albus asked as Fawkes crooned a greeting to the sixth year witch.

She held up the slips of parchment before she said, "the costume suggestions by the fourth through seventh years. I made sure that there are no chances of two professors wearing identical costumes." She then laid the pile on the corner of his desk before she said, "you really need to look into getting yourself a secretary or something. I'm sure you can authorize the secretary to be able to make certain decisions or approvals… What are all these papers about anyway?" She picked up a small stack and flicked her way through it as she questioned him about it.

He sighed before he said in an annoyed tone of voice, "this, that and the other. Most of them are reports from the Professors concerning their students progress, others are from the detentions that have been given and served others that have yet to be served. And that's not mentioning the denials the board of governors keep sending me for all of my requests, sometimes I wonder if they even bother to read my requests anymore or just deny them out of habit…" He trailed off in frustration, as he raised his head to look up at one of the paintings he noticed her befuddled look so he explained, "I've asked them repeatedly over the last twelve years for new brooms for the flying lessons and every time I have requested it my request has been denied."

He scowled slightly under his long white beard and moustache, he then grumbled, "no matter how many times I insist that the brooms are becoming unstable they insist that the brooms are fine! That's not even mentioning the denials about some of the classes I've had to drop due to the budget cuts that they decided to make," he huffed at the thought of the loss of classes, Kushina herself scowled at that.

With flashing gold eyes she asked in a deceptively calm and relaxed tone of voice, "which classes did you have to cut?"

He sighed gustily before he started naming the classes and ticking them off on his fingers as he did so, "Healing, wizarding etiquette: it was for those not raised in the wizarding world or for those whose parents couldn't afford private tutors. Warding: it was on both the breaking of wards and on the making other wise known as Ward building, thanks to the loss of that class we now rely on Gringotts for all warding. We lost the language classes first, it taught not only how to speak the languages of other countries but also Mermish, gobbledygook, and other such languages. And finally we lost Physical Defense shortly before Tom Riddle started school, that class included archery, sword fighting and hand to hand combat." He shrugged as he commented bitterly, "after the fall of Grindelwald thanks to myself those classes had been deemed unnecessary." He then scowled angrily and even Fawkes made a low sound of anger as Albus said, "fools the lot of them!"

Kushina's upper lip had curled in disgust before she said scathingly, "let me guess, every time you propose to bring back the classes they deny your request." He merely nodded grimly in response, she shook her head at the board of Governors stupidity before she queried, "why don't you just use the joint account of the founders to fund the classes? That is what it was established for after all, to run the school as well as for the upkeep of the wards and grounds…"

Albus stared at her blankly before he asked in confusion, "what joint account? The board is the only supply of money besides the money donated by the graduates of Hogwarts and the tuition of the current students. Aren't they?"

Kushina groaned before she muttered, "I really need to give you a copy of the Hogwart's Charter… Not to mention I need to add a few new rules to it…" She then looked up at him before she explained, "the Founders did not create the Hogwarts Board of Governors, that was established long after their deaths. I have no real idea of how it came about or when it was established, but I do know that the only person, or people for that matter, who can decide how this school is run is the heirs of Hogwarts and the current Headmaster of the school."

As she stood up to leave the room she commented formally, "Headmaster Dumbledore, I, Kushina Ruri Potter-Lupin, head of the houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin, do hereby request to see a list of written proposals in order of most needed to least needed. The list is to only be of the changes you wish to make to the school to make it both safer and to provide a better education for the students. If your written proposals have merit, I see no reason to deny an update to the schools security and curriculum." She then straightened her robes and with a twinkle in her gold eyes said, "that should take care of that," she then gave the shell shocked man a genial nod and left the room.

Albus stared after the departing witch along with many of the portraits of the former Headmasters and Headmistresses, Fawkes chirped at his wizard worriedly. Albus grinned at the fire phoenix before his said in a hushed tone, "it looks like things are finally starting to go our way, old boy." With that he petted the crooning birds bright red and gold feathers as he began writing the proposals for Kushina to go over.

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On the eighteenth at dinner the Headmaster stood up and the entire Hall quickly grew silent, if there was one aspect of Hogwarts that was fully expected that all students obey, it was to become silent if the headmaster wished to speak. Albus cleared his throat before he said with twinkling blue eyes, the other professors merely looked resigned, "as I'm sure you all remember, I had Kushina convey a message and request to the fourth through seventh years. I've decided to have a costumed ball for Hallowe'en, if this venture is successful then it will continue to be a part of Hogwart's many traditions."

The Professors were clearly holding back groans and other such noises of complaint, many of the boys wished that they had that much restraint because several groaned quietly and had the girls near them glare at them for it. Albus clapped his hands together to get their attention back before he said, "as the fourth years and up no doubt remember they came up with several costume ideas for the professors that will be chaperoning the event. So without further delay, the professors will chose their costumes by picking a single slip of parchment out of this cauldron." With that he gestured to the cauldron in front of him, it was a size seven bronze cauldron, Neville groaned slightly he recognized one of the better looking victims of his early potion lessons.

Albus' eyes gleamed as he added casually, "some of the shinigami have also opted to chose their costumes via this method." He then gestured for the professors to reach into the cauldron to chose their slip then pass the cauldron on to the next professor. After everyone had taken a single slip of parchment from the cauldron, Albus shocked everyone by announcing, "and now we will read off the costume we've been given. Adaptations to the costume will of course be allowed, for each persons own preferences."

The professors groaned aloud at the Headmasters enthusiasm before they reluctantly started to read off their costume choice. Hagrid started it off when he gruffly stated, "it would seem I'm going to be Papa Bear this Hallowe'en."

Flitwick snorted before he remarked, "hi then dad. I'm going to be Baby Bear this time…" That statement got a few snickers from both the other professors and the students listening to the announcements of the costumes.

A few moments later Professor Sinstra, the astronomy professor proclaimed, "looks like I'm going to be joining you two in that particular fairytale since I'm Goldilocks. I guess all we need now is a Mama Bear," she quipped lightly as she folded her slip of parchment.

Severus gaped down at his slip while Sirius groaned before he handed his slip to his husband and read Severus' slip in turn. "At least we're going to be a matching pair," Sirius muttered before he raised his head and announced, "I'm going to be Snow White." He then pointed at his husband and said with an amused lilt to his voice, "and he's my Huntsman."

Remus on the other hand had buried his head into his palms and was resolutely ignoring the world around him by muttering to himself under his breath. James on the other hand snickered in amusement to himself before he quipped, "cheer up Moony. You have to admit that it's rather ironic that we got this particular set of costumes," he waved the slips around as he said that.

Remus glared lightly up at his highly amused and pregnant mate before he muttered clearly, "how is it ironic that you are going to be dressed up as Beauty and I'm going to be dressed up as Beast? Enlighten me James, just how can you find this funny!" Remus then dropped his head to rest it against the tabletop with a rather solid thunk, James chuckled before he began rubbing his mates back soothingly without answering Remus' question.

Lily watched the pair with amusement in her eyes before she said, "it looks like I'll have to adapt my costume since I'm going as Princess Ariel from the Little mermaid. I think I'll use the form she had at the end of the movie instead of the one she was given during the latter part of the movie and she didn't have her voice." She scrunched her nose slightly in disgust before she muttered, "I couldn't be silent the entire time after all."

Coyote stared down at the slip in his hand before he handed it over to Lily and said lazily, "I'm some Prince named Eric. Other than that I have no clue who I'm supposed to dress up as."

Lily stared down at the slip before she sighed and said as she patted him on the shoulder, "don't worry. I'll help you with your costume, after all your choice happens to be Ariel's Prince so I can't have you looking bad." Coyote shrugged, clearly not caring what she did to him so long as he didn't have to be very energetic about it.

Albus beamed at everyone happily before he announced, "I'm playing Saint Nicholas for Hallowe'en!"

Kushina snickered as she muttered to Ron and Hermione, "at least he won't have to grow the beard. Although, he'll probably be the skinniest Santa I've ever seen before." From the abortive snorts around her a majority of them agreed with her opinion about the headmaster as Santa.

Madam Pomfrey scowled down at her slip of parchment before she growled, "apparently I'm going to play the wife of your costume, Albus." She flicked the slip at him as she said, "according to that I'm supposed to play Mrs. Clause."

Madam Hooch stared down at her slip in puzzlement before she asked in confusion, "who's Elvira?" A vast majority of the Muggle-raised and Muggleborns gaped up at the yellow eyed flying instructor in shock.

Minerva snorted before she said with a sneer, "I don't know whether to envy you or pity you, Rolanda." At Madam Hooch's confused look the Transfiguration Mistress said, "I'm going to be the woman whose face supposedly launched a thousand ships." The students who knew the tale boggled at the thought, then all of them wondered silently if anyone had gotten the costume of Prince Paris of Troy.

Their inner question was answered only a few moments later as Chojiro Sasakibe asked, "how can someone be costumed as a city?"

Minerva groaned before she took his slip from him and read it she then told him, "you're Prince Paris of the city of Troy. The man with whom Queen Helen ran away with," at his confused look she sighed then muttered, "I'll tell you all about it later."

Nel waved her slip around happily as she declared, "I'm going to be a wood nymph!"

Firenze blinked down at his before he sighed and said to himself, "at least I won't have to adapt my costume." He then looked p and announced to the Hall, "I'm going to be going as Chiron, who was a legendary centaur. Now that costume choice was rather ironic…"

Tonks on the other hand looked at her slip and said with a smile, "cool, I'm Persephone. How about you, Jushiro, who are you going to be going as?"

The white haired captain stared down at his slip before he looked up at the pink haired Auror, "do you know who Hades is?"

Tonks blinked at him before she said carefully, "he's Persephone's husband as well as the King of the Greek Underworld."

Jushiro blinked at her quizzically before he announced cheerfully, "at least our costumes will match!" And with that comment the professors left the Great Hall, the students shortly followed their example, exiting the Hall with great alacrity.

"So what or rather who are you going as," Ron asked his best friends as they walked to their common room.

Hermione smirked before she said gleefully, "I managed to convince Kenpachi to go as Michael from Grease 2, so I'm going as Stephanie. Only I'm going to have brown hair instead of blond because I'm not dying my hair obviously." She glanced over at Kushina before se asked, "what about you?"

Kushina smiled enigmatically before she said airily, "just a character from an old Asian myth, Kisuke has agreed to come along as my counterpart." She looked over at Ron before she asked thoughtfully, "what about you, Ron? What or who are you and Rukia going to be dressed up as?"

Ron sighed before he said, "Rukia is going as Artemis, so I'm going as Orion, her favored hunter."

Both girls hummed in appreciation of the pairs choice before Kushina said, "those costumes suit the pair of you somehow. After all Artemis was the Goddess of the Moon and the Hunt."

"Not to mention that Orion was her most favored hunter despite being a man, so much so that she immortalized him in the stars as a constellation after his accidental death." Hermione gently pointed out as they reached the sixth floor and passed one of the Ravenclaw prefects, she nodded to them before continuing on the path to the seventh floor.

The three swiftly reached their common room after that and at the base of the stairs went their separate ways for the night, Ron went up the stairs to the boys dorm while Hermione went up the Girls and Kushina went into her rooms.

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Three days later Kushina was attempting to teach Kenpachi how to Waltz, as well as how to perform the Samba, and the Rumba. She sighed before she began the music again with a flick of her wrist and wand, she then gestured for him to rejoin her on the dance floor. She waited patiently before she said, "alright, lets try that again, only this time try to keep your eyes on mine. I'm sure Hermione would appreciate you looking in her eyes as the pair of you dance and not down at your feet to count the steps."

Kenpachi groaned quietly but nodded in agreement as he made his way back over to her. She rolled her shoulders and neck causing a series of loud pops to ring out, she then gestured for him to retake his position. He held out his left hand at eye level, she put her right hand in it then placed her left hand on his right upper arm. Kenpachi then placed his right hand on her lower right shoulder blade, the pair paused until the right beat was approaching then they began moving to the music.

As they moved around the floor she was murmuring, "one, two, three," to the beats of the music, every time Kenpachi tried to look down she would tighten her left hand to warn him off of doing that. After several hours of this Kushina murmured quietly, "alright, it looks like you have this dance down now." She smirked at the large scared man before she quipped, "although I think it would be best if I warn Hermione to squeeze your arm if you try to look down during any of your dances."

He flashed a slightly embarrassed grin at her before he asked nervously, "so what dance is next? I've learned two dances, but you said that you'd be teaching me three…"

Kushina walked over to the old turntable in the corner as she remarked, "well, you've learned the waltz, you learned the Rumba yesterday… You should be proud, even though those dances are relatively simple, you've learned them in a very short period of time." She then flashed her usual sparring, and current dancing, partner an approving smile of delight.

She then hummed in thought before she said, "I suppose the third dance I teach you will be the one of your choice… I can teach you the Samba, the Tango, or the Foxtrot, in the end it's your choice." As she spoke she removed the vinyl record from the turntable and placed it back into the sleeve she removed it from, she then placed it into her book bag.

As she walked past him she patted him on the shoulder and said, "tell you what, tell me your decision tomorrow. Think it over carefully, we'll practice the waltz and Rumba then okay?" He confirmed his willingness to her suggestion by nodding his head, at that she left the room, as she walked down the corridor she passed Hermione who shot her a questioning look, "he's in the Room of Requirement," Kushina called over her shoulder, she saw Hermione's thankful glance when she looked over her shoulder to see if her best friend had heard her.

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Fifteen days after that Kushina was helping Hermione into her chosen costume, she shook her head in amusement as she zipped up the back of the dress. She then chuckled at the nervous glance that Hermione shot toward the closed door, "don't worry so much, Hermione. Although I'm sure that it's going to look a bit odd to see a man dressed like Kenpachi is dancing with a girl in a short silver dress."

Hermione glared over her shoulder at her friend, who was currently grinning in amusement, before she swiped at her. "Oh, go help Luna and Ginny with their hair," the brown eyed witch growled playfully at the Kimono clad witch.

Kushina laughed as she dodged the irritated strike before she ducked out the door while she said, "alright, I will!" She shook her head as she headed down the small hallway and entered into another room, the entire group was in the Room of Requirement, she had already dressed in her outfit but had yet to put her hair up or put on the little make up she planned to wear.

As she entered the room she beamed at the two girls, Ginny and Luna were already dressed so Kushina summoned two clones. "Help them with their hair then dispel yourselves," Kushina ordered, the pair of clones nodded before they promptly got to work at their assigned task. As she walked past a few doors she peeked inside long enough to see if the occupant needed any help with their costume, if they did she sent a few clones in to help them with it, all of her clones were wearing a dragon mask over their face. She had sent a few clones earlier to help Nel, her Aunt and Tonks with their costumes, they had just dispelled themselves so she paused for a moment to let their memories sink in before she continued down the hallway.

She entered on of the rooms on the right side of the hallway and summoned a shadow clone to help her with her hair and makeup, as the clone finished it's task she gazed into the mirror. After her clone had dispelled itself she continued to check over her appearance, just as she was about to put one of the final touches on her outfit the rest of her clones dispelled themselves and flooded her mind with their memories. She snickered to herself at some of the conversations they had overheard while helping the others with their hair and costumes.

Rukia, Orihime and Hannah Abbott had helped each other with their costumes, make up and hair so she hadn't needed to send clones to help them. She chuckled mentally as she thought of the costumes that Hannah and Neville, who had decided to go to the ball together, had chosen for tonight. ' _ **As if Kisuke and your choice aren't just as ironic, you don't even have an excuse for it either. The two of you just find it incredibly humorous to go as the pair, of course Kisuke doesn't remember Kurama so he finds it somewhat less amusing than you.'**_ Thanatos muttered tightly in her mind, she then heard a rather sleepy murmur of agreement from Anubis before he fell silent again except for the occasional snore.

Every Hallowe'en without fail, at least from before Hogwarts and after her fourth year, Anubis slept through the entire day. He always refused to explain why he did, he even refused to tell Thanatos, as soon as it turned midnight on the thirtieth he would fall asleep and wouldn't awaken until midnight on the thirty-first. He would go a full twenty-four hours without waking up a single time, even though Kushina and Thanatos would hear murmurs of agreement or disagreement from him, they never heard him utter a single word after he fell asleep.

Kushina rolled her eyes as she muttered back to him, _**'point to you Thanatos. Be glad however that I'm not making you attend the ball yourself, I know how much you love events like these after all…'**_ The whole time she was speaking to him mentally, she had her mental voice positively dripping with a sickly sweet tone. She smirked as she felt him shudder, if there was one thing Thanatos despised more than anything, it was dance parties of any kind, but especially masquerades.

She knew that the boys would leave first, she snickered lightly to herself as she walked out of the room into the hall as she wondered how her Papa's and Uncle 'Rus would react to seeing how her Dad and Uncle Sear were dressed. Personally she thought that Uryu did a fantastic job on their costumes, even if she had to bribe him to keep him from putting any Quincy motifs into the designs, he had designed and sewed most of the costumes the group was wearing. The young archer had consented to make most of the costumes of the group, he had been surprised at her and Kisuke's chosen outfits, he was even more surprised that she had sewed the costumes herself.

The other girls were coming out of their rooms and a few gaped at the minor henge that she had used as an addition to her outfit. She merely smiled at their stunned expressions smugly before she remarked loftily, "I believe our dates are waiting for us downstairs, so lets go." As she spoke she slipped an exquisitely decorated mask over her face, it was somewhat designed to match both her outfit and current appearance, most of the people attending the Ball wouldn't be wearing masks. Indeed, she'd only be wearing it for a short time, it was only to give some of the people at the Ball a clue as to who she was dressed up as.

She then turned and exited the Room of Requirement, she then lead the group downstairs, she was listening mentally for Benihime's voice but didn't hear her. She smirked, she figured that knowing her fiancée as well as she did that he'd be in the Ballroom annoying people by teasing them about their outfits.

She stood to the side and her golden eyes gleamed in satisfaction as she watched everyone collect their dates before they entered the Ballroom.

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Neville swallowed thickly, he had partially shifted to his animagus form, although he had kept a more human appearance to his body, it was covered in a pelt of short fur. Involuntarily his tail wagged in pleasure and his wolf ears perked up at the sight of Hannah in her costume, she was wearing a sky-blue dress with a short red cape over it, the cape had a hood on it but it was hanging along her back and not over her head.

He sketched a quick bow to her as she paused in front of him to look him up and down, she smiled at him before she remarked, "my, my, my. What big eyes you have, Mr. Wolf."

He grinned as best as he could around his muzzle at her before he quipped in a rough growling tone, "all the better to see you with, Little Red." Hannah laughed at that before she took his proffered hand and allowed him to escort her into the Ballroom, which was a few doors down from the Great Hall.

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Kushina bit her lower lip to keep the laugh that was trying to break free from escaping and alerting those near her to her amusement. She then glanced over to see Blaise's reaction to Orihime's outfit, she had a small start of surprise at how the pair had managed to chose complementary costumes.

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Blaise's eyes widened slightly in shock and he had to ruthlessly suppress the urge to pinch himself to see if he was dreaming. He took in the way Orihime's bodice clung to her torso while her skirt flared just at the place where her hips met her waist. The dress was a pale cream with a pattern of ivy sewn into it along the hems of her sleeves, neckline and skirt. He gave her a small bow before he murmured with a heated look in his dark eyes, "you look lovely, my Lady."

Orihime's eyes widened both at the tone and the look in his eyes, she blushed lightly before she dropped into a curtsey and said quietly, "thank you for the compliment Robin Hood." She peeked up at him and bit her lower lip lightly while admiring who his dark green leather pants clung to his upper legs as well as his hips. His cream colored tunic was made of linen and was open to mid chest, he had both a quiver and a boy slung over one shoulder with the leather band and string across his chest from right shoulder to left hip. After they greeted one another Blaise offered his arm to Orihime and led her down the hall and into the Ballroom.

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Jushiro had been speaking quietly to Sajin Komamura as the girls walked down the stairs the pair looked up at the gasp Tetsuzaemon had managed to get out. They looked over to see him gaping at Ginny's outfit, the red haired witch smiled at the gaping lieutenant. After several moments of stunned silence the dark haired man managed to murmur to her, "you look gorgeous."

A pleased smile crossed the young woman's face before she murmured back, "why thank you, General Solo."

He grinned down at her before he gave her a low bow and said while he offered her one of his arms, "shall we join the Ball, Princess Leia?"

She laughed lightly before she took the proffered arm and happily said, "of course." She then walked down the hallway and into the Ballroom with him.

Jushiro chuckled quietly before he said to Sajin, "it looks like your lieutenant has it bad for her." Sajin laughed before he nodded in agreement about that, the pair then looked up when they heard shocked gasps from some of the fourth years that was heading down the hall to the Ballroom. Both men gaped in shock at their dates, both girls were dressed in light colored gowns, Tonks was wearing a sea foam green dress while Luna was wearing a silver dress. Both dresses had embroidered flowers on them, Luna's flowers were roses and stitched with an ice blue thread while Tonks were belladonna's and stitched in royal purple.

Luna's hair was swept up in a loose bun with several strands framing her face while Tonks had changed her hair color to a deep mahogany brown and also had her hair pulled up in a bun. However, her hair unlike Luna's who kept her hair straight, Tonks had put curls into her hair, Tonks smiled smugly at Jushiro's bewildered expression.

After several moments of having him stare at her speechlessly she commented, "speechless are we, my Dark King?" She then smirked at him then after looking him slowly up and down said with a drawling tone, "of course with your hair color, I really shouldn't call you dark, now should I?"

He then glared at her playfully before he murmured while he offered his right arm for her to take, "you're lucky I find your antics amusing, my dearest." She smirked at him again but allowed him to escort her to the Ballroom.

Luna had paused in front of the seventh division captain, she then glanced up at him through her lashes before she said softly, "shall we go to the Ball, Rex Pendragon?"

Sajin blinked his gold eyes down at the blue eyed blond girl beside him before he smiled gently down at her. He then commented to her as he nodded in affirmation to her question, "you look lovely, my Queen."

She dropped into a curtsey with both a small smile and a blush before she murmured, "you flatter me my Arthur." With that said the pair entered the Ballroom that they had been walking to while she was speaking.

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Hermione walked over to Kenpachi as soon as she spotted him, as she walked over she admired the way the black leather pants clung to his thighs and hips. The leather around his calves was looser to allow for more movement, her inner beast purred in satisfaction over the way their mate looked. For just tonight Kenpachi had left off his eye patch, he had worked with Kushina for months to learn how to control his spiritual pressure so as to not knock everyone around him unconscious the moment he took off the patch. As she paused in front of him she made a show of looking him up and down before she licked her lips hungrily as she all but purred, "hello there, handsome."

Kenpachi's dark eyes flashed to a bright gold for a brief moment at the way her voice sounded combined with her outfit. He then rumbled a laugh before he said while admiring the silver dress she was wearing, "hello, my Hermione." Unlike the other couples the pair had decided against calling each other by their costumes names. At that moment Kisuke walked out of the ballroom, he stared at Kushina for several long moments before he walked over to her with a predatory gait.

"You look beautiful, my Kitsune," as he had spoken he had closed his fan and put it away. He then trailed his fingertips along the mask she was wearing, after he had traced the fox features on the porcelain mask he reached up and tweaked one of the fox ears on the top of her head. It twitched from the rather ticklish sensation and Kushina glared lightly at her mate, those watching gaped in shock, they hadn't realized that the ears were real. Unknown to both the watchers and even to Kushina, her son had figured out her trick to making a Henge to be a perfect transformation instead of merely an illusion.

Kushina bowed her head and looked up at her mate demurely as she murmured quietly, "thank you, my Husband. I had hoped that my choice would please you…"

Again the watchers goggled at the pair in shock, Kushina was never meek or mild, she was like a wild cat, considering her animagus form that was a rather appropriate analogy if any of them thought about it. She was an unstoppable force, she was like an ageless mountain that had the wind constantly howling at it to bow, and as one particular muggleborn had quipped once, _'she's like a black hole. Nothing escapes her grasp once she's decided it's hers, that is unless she wants to give it up.'_ To their puzzlement all Kisuke did was laugh before he said, "don't act like that, my Kitsune, you know that it always makes me laugh."

A dark chuckle escaped the fox mask before Kushina commented with a chirp to her voice, "that's why I did it, well that and I liked the looks that we got from most of the students." Her gold eyes twinkled in mischief up at him from behind the mask as Kisuke laughed in amusement while the formally gapping students glared at the serenely calm sixth year.

His blue-grey eyes sparkled at her the corners of his eyes were crinkled in amusement at his chosen mates antics. He then bowed to her before he said while holding out his left hand, "shall we, my beautiful fox?"

As she placed her right hand in his left she reached up with her left and removed the mask as they walked through the doors to the ballroom. As the first ball held at Hogwarts since the Triwizard tournament Albus had allowed, or rather asked, Collin Creevey to take pictures of the costumes that his fellow students and professors were wearing to the Ball. So when the pair entered the ballroom, he caught her sly smile and Kisuke's smirk as the two paused at the door for their costumes to be announced to the room at large.

However the person announcing the costumes couldn't figure out their costumes so he asked, "uhh, do you mind if we ask you exactly who you are supposed to be?"

Jushiro was standing near the pair while getting a drink for Tonks who was dancing with one of the students, he said with a chuckle, "if I'm not mistaken…And do correct me if I'm wrong… Kisuke is dressed up as lord Odo, while Kushina is dressed up as Lord Odo's wife, legend has that she was a shape shifting fox. It was actually due to the pair and their love that all shape shifting foxes are called Kitsunes, you see one of the translations of Kitsune means, 'always comes,' after her real form was discovered she ran away from her husbands house. Lord Odo had called after her, 'you may be a fox but you are the mother of my son, you will always be welcome here!' Legend has that she would return to his bed every night in the form of a woman but she would leave every morning in the form of a fox."

He then looked at the pair expectantly, he found Kushina smiling at him as she nodded before she said, "that is indeed who we are dressed up as. You certainly know your mythology, Jushiro," she complimented before she turned to the announcer and said, you can announce us as Lady Kitsune and Lord Odo." As he shrugged and announced them as she bade, as he announced them they moved further into the room.

After several dances together, the pair took a break for a drink, Kisuke was distracted slightly by a discussion with Albus about candy. Kushina was asked to dance by Draco, to the shock of those nearby she actually contemplated the offer before she glanced over at Kisuke who looked up at her, he smiled and nodded. Then to their further surprise Kushina allowed the Scion of the Malfoy family to take her by the hand and lead her out to the dance floor. A waltz was playing, half way through the waltz Kisuke caught a glimpse of the pair out of the corner of his eye, for a split second it appeared that a man beside Draco was dancing with Kushina.

He blinked his eyes as he shook his head and the man disappeared from his sight, Kisuke distractedly made his apologies to Albus then walked over to the wall across from the pairs current position. He leaned against it and watched the pair, at several points of the dance Draco was replaced by, or rather his image was replaced, with another man. The man's image niggled at Kisuke's memory, but he couldn't place the man no matter how much he tried to place him. He only had the odd thought that the image before him seemed right in some way, he had never enjoyed the waltz, although he did dance it with Kushina whenever she requested him to, however she rarely did so since she knew how much he hated it even though she enjoyed the dance immensely.

The man in the image seemed to enjoy the dance as much as she did, when the image disappeared for the third time, Kisuke realized that an imaged also imposed itself over Kushina. He could tell since the pair in the image was dancing much closer than the pair that was on the dance floor was dancing. He then glanced around the dance floor to see how many other people were dancing with someone other than their date, he then moved along the edge of the dance floor until he reached where the pair would be stopping once the song ended. As the song ended he nodded a greeting to the blond Slytherin, he then whisked his Fiancée into the Rumba and as they danced together the red haired witch laughed, to his statement the woman's image imposed itself over Kushina again. He then heard a whisper in his mind almost sounding as if she was whispering in his ear, "Sakumo was just dancing with me. You keep this up and everyone is going to think that you believe he's trying to steal me away from you and that will hurt his feelings, Minato!"

He then heard a man huff quietly and reply to the woman, "Sakumo knows that I don't mind him dancing with you. I'm just upset since I can't really dance with him in public without us raising a lot of eyebrows or it getting back to Kakashi-Kun."

He heard her laugh and before the image dissolved he heard as she quipped, "pouting again my Minato?" she laughed again and added, "the pair of you can dance when we get to his house, after all Kakashi demanded the chance to stay alone outside, remember?"

All the sudden he heard Kushina asking him worriedly, "Kisuke… Are you alright?" She had pressed her hand against his forehead and moved them off the dance floor near the doors leading to the garden.

He reached up and after grasping her hand brought it down before he smiled at her then commented, "jut odd thoughts my dear."

She raised her left eyebrow skeptically then stared him in the eye and said firmly, "don't try to lie to me, Kisuke. I know what you look like when you're thinking and that was not you thinking… So what is wrong?"

He sighed before he mentally muttered to himself, _'should've known she wouldn't buy that story…'_

Benihime muttered back, ' _ **yeah, you should have. Your mate is smarter than that, just tell her the truth. She just might have an explanation as to who those three people were.'**_

' _ **Alright… I'll tell her,'**_   Kisuke acquiesced to the irritable spirit, she always got grumpy when Anubis slept on Hallowe'en. He sighed again before he opened his eyes and said to Kushina, "lets take a walk, I'll tell you about it then."

Although she was curious to the extreme, Kushina followed him outside and into the large rose garden. As the pair walked down the maze like corridors made of rose bushes he said, "while you were dancing with Draco Malfoy, both of your images were, in my eyes anyway, replaced by a similar looking pair. Although, the woman greatly resembled you, so much so that I almost didn't realize that your image was replaced. The man she was dancing with had silver or grey hair, I couldn't quite tell, he wasn't old though and the color appeared to be natural…"

Kushina frowned in puzzlement but listened intently to him as he continued, "then when I was dancing with you just now. I heard two voices, I think the man who you, or rather who resembled you, was dancing with was named Sakumo. She had called me by the name of Minato, however…" He looked at her in confusion before he asked, "do you know what's going on?"

Kushina was staring up at him in shock before she swallowed and asked carefully, "have you had glimpses like this before?"

His eyes glazed over as he thought back and he nodded slowly before he said, "a few times, but never for that long before. Why?" As they had been talking they had reached a large clearing with a few benches almost hidden in niches along the rose walls, some of benches were marked by columns in the Greek style.

She drew him over to one of the benches that was marked by a column, she pulled him down to sit beside her on it. She sighed as she tried to decide how to handle this, she then said carefully, "this is not the first life we've lived together." As she said that he opened his mouth to speak, however she placed her left hand over it and gave him a look that said, 'shut up and don't talk until I'm finished.' He swallowed thickly and shut his mouth with a slight click of his teeth, he then gestured for her to continue her explanation to him.

Once she was assured of his silence she continued, "in our last life together your name was Minato Namikaze and mine was Kushina Uzumaki, I know, it's rather ironic that my first name remained the same…" She shook her head at the thought and wondered if the king had a hand in the choice of name she then asked, "does that ring any bells for you?" She paused briefly to let him think before she continued after he shook his head, "Sakumo… Sakumo Hatake was a good friend to us both… He was my partner in ANBU as well as my senior Jounin partner on regular missions, at least on paper he was my senior partner, on the field we were equals."

She gave him a wry smile before she said, "I loved to dance to the waltz but you severely disliked it. You loved to dance to the tango but I loathed it, we would dance it if the other requested it but we didn't enjoy it as much. Sakumo liked dancing to both but hated the Rumba, Salsa and Samba, he was a widower but since he and I were mission partners no one truly was concerned or talked much if we danced together. It was expected that we be able to anticipate each others moves and dancing together helped that, so no one batted an eye if he and I danced a waltz or two together." She paused with a sigh of regret before she continued by saying, "however there was no way the two of you could dance together without the entire village gossiping. And Sakumo had a son to think of who happened to be your only student…" She smirked at him before she said with a sly smile, "however that didn't stop the pair of you from dancing under a henge, all of the Hyuga's assumed that the pair of you were spying on someone in the club since the two of you only did that when I was away on a solo mission."

Kisuke hummed and thought to himself, ' _there's more to our relationship with Sakumo then she's letting on. But remembering seems to cause her pain…'_   He then looked down at the sad woman, the fox ears were drooping with sadness, he tweaked the right one before he asked, "when did we die?"

Kushina's ear twitched and she blinked up at the odd question before she said, "that is a hard question to answer…" She hummed in thought before she sighed lightly as she leaned back against the column behind her she said, "it was about eleven years ago. It was on October tenth in the Elemental countries, I had been the Junikari to Kurama the Kyuubi no Kitsune. During one of the times that the seal was at its weakest a man ripped Kurama from the seal on me, I barely survived the removal, if it weren't for my families tendency to have larger than normal chakra coils I would have died… The man set Kurama to attack Konoha, the village that we both called home, we tried to regain control of Kurama. However, the man told him to attack us, during one of the times that he attacked us I was fatally wounded, you gave your life to seal Kurama away again only this time he wouldn't be able to get out again. Not without a lot more effort any way…"

She shrugged before she said, "it's highly unlikely for his new host to share the same weakness that my seal had since it was very different than his." She cocked her head toward him and said with a proud smile on her face, "you were very thorough after all."

She took a deep breath through her nose then let it out through her mouth before she continued, "we ended up in front of the King after we died. He took one look at us the muttered, 'I was wondering when the two of you were going to show up. Well of you go,' the next thing we know we're standing in front of his slightly younger self. He took a look at us then read the letter that his elder self sent back with us, he sent you onto the Rukongai after he read the letter. He kept me by his side however, he told me that although you would forget your life as Minato, you would still have the memories you just wouldn't be able to access them. I'm somehow supposed to be the key to your memories, but I have no clue as to how…"

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

As she had spoken of how he had sacrificed his life to seal away the nine tailed fox, Kisuke remembered something, he had heard a child crying and he had begged, "let me see him. Please let me see him, Sarutobi, please let me see him…" He then saw a little blond haired boy with whisker marks on his cheeks, he brushed a shaking fingertip over the marks. He then said hoarsely, "goodbye, Naruto-Chan, I don't want to leave you alone, but I have no choice." As he spoke he had clutched the crying child to his chest weakly as he then looked up at the ANBU gathered around him as well as the old man that handed the child to him.

He swallowed thickly, he tasted blood as tears filled his eyes before he said, "let him be seen as a hero. Consider that my final wish, I want my son to be seen as a hero, because he is, after all he's all that stands between Konoha and the nine tailed fox. Just as his mother did before him…"

He coughed a few times before he looked at a pair of the ANBU operatives and said, "Mikoto, Fukaku… Please have your clan watch over my son, guide him as best as you can…" Both nodded to him before they fell into stillness once more, Minato glanced over at his wife. She was sprawled on her back on the forest floor, a few ANBU were surrounding her trying to comfort her and keep her from moving too much. She was barely moving anymore, as he caught her eyes he could tell she was fading fast.

He then gestured for Mikoto and Fukaku to come over to him, he then handed Naruto to Mikoto before he said, "let Kushina see him one last time." As Mikoto walked over to her best friend to let her hold her son one last time, Minato said weakly, "if there had been any other way to save Konoha… I would have done it gladly, if I could make a deal with the Shinigami to let the two of us live again I would make it gladly and pay whatever price he demanded."

He then looked up at Sarutobi before he said, "promise me, Sarutobi, that you will protect him. Promise me that you'll tell him about us, that he'll know who he is, that he was wanted and adored…"

The old man nodded to the dying man, he then said, "I promise you Minato, I promise he'll be protected…"

"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

Kisuke then felt a touch on his shoulder and heard as Kushina asked, "Kisuke, are you alright?"

She blinked a bit when he stated, "the reason that the seal was weak was because you were giving birth." As she gaped at him he smiled sadly with tears in his eyes and said, "we have a son, his name is Naruto and he just turned eleven." As he spoke he was crying silently.

She enfolded the crying blond in an embrace before she whispered in his ear, "he's fine Kisuke. The Cheetahs are keeping a close watch on him and Gamabunta's already agreed to take him as a summoner the moment he signs the contract. He's not alone, and as soon as we can we're going back… And when we do, may the King help whoever harmed our son, because we will show no mercy!"

He stared up into the flashing gold eyes of his fiancée as she then said, "so dry your tears and think of the 'morrow." He smiled before he held out his hand to her and pulled her up before he swayed her to the music filtering out from the Ballroom.

After several moments Kushina flicked her wand sharply and a song filled the air, Kisuke's brow furrowed as he attempted to identify the song. However, he couldn't so after several moments he asked, "what song is this, and who sings it?"

She laughed lightly before she said, "the song is called Halo and the artist that sings it is named Beyonce." She hummed a few bars of the music before she began to murmur the song as they swayed to the song.

_**"Remember those walls I built** _

_**Well, baby they're tumbling down** _

_**And they didn't even put up a fight** _

_**They didn't even make up a sound** _

_**I found a way to let you in** _

_**But I never really had a doubt** _

_**Standing in the light of your halo** _

_**I got my angel now** _

_**It's like I've been awakened** _

_**Every rule I had you breakin'** _

_**It's the risk that I'm takin'** _

_**I ain't never gonna shut you out** _

_**Everywhere I'm looking now** _

_**I'm surrounded by your embrace** _

_**Baby I can see your halo** _

_**You know you're my saving grace** _

_**You're everything I need and more** _

_**It's written all over your face** _

_**Baby I can feel your halo** _

_**Pray it won't fade away** _

_**I can feel your halo halo, halo** _

_**I can see your halo halo, halo** _

_**I can feel your halo halo, halo** _

_**I can see your halo halo, halo** _

_**Hit me like a ray of sun** _

_**Burning through my darkest night** _

_**You're the only one that I want** _

_**Think I'm addicted to your light** _

_**I swore I'd never fall again** _

_**But this don't even feel like falling** _

_**Gravity can't forget** _

_**To pull me back to the ground again** _

_**Feels like I've been awakened** _

_**Every rule I had you breakin'** _

_**The risk that I'm takin'** _

_**I'm never gonna shut you out** _

_**Everywhere I'm looking now** _

_**I'm surrounded by your embrace** _

_**Baby I can see your halo** _

_**You know you're my saving grace** _

_**You're everything I need and more** _

_**It's written all over your face** _

_**Baby I can feel your halo** _

_**Pray it won't fade away** _

_**I can feel your halo halo, halo** _

_**I can see your halo halo, halo** _

_**I can feel your halo halo, halo** _

_**I can see your halo halo, halo** _

_**I can feel your halo halo, halo** _

_**I can see your halo halo, halo** _

_**I can feel your halo halo, halo** _

_**I can see your halo halo, halo** _

_**Halo, halo** _

_**Everywhere I'm looking now** _

_**I'm surrounded by your embrace** _

_**Baby I can see your halo** _

_**You know you're my saving grace** _

_**You're everything I need and more** _

_**It's written all over your face** _

_**Baby I can feel your halo** _

_**Pray it won't fade away** _

_**I can feel your halo halo, halo** _

_**I can see your halo halo, halo** _

_**I can feel your halo halo, halo** _

_**I can see your halo halo, halo** _

_**I can feel your halo halo, halo** _

_**I can see your halo halo, halo** _

_**I can feel your halo halo, halo** _

_**I can see your halo halo, halo"** _

Kushina leaned her head into the crook of his neck and left shoulder, then she heard two voices heading their way. She gripped his hand and pulled him into the shadows of one of the many entrances to the clearing they had been in. She had recognized the voices and wanted them to believe they were alone, from the opposite entrance Lily and Coyote entered the nook. Kushina's spell had yet to end so a new song came on, she leaned up and whispered into Kisuke's ear, "this song is called 'are you gonna kiss me or not.' I have no clue who the artist is though so don't ask…"

As the chorus belted out Lily stared Coyote in the eyes then she sang along to the chorus, _"Are you gonna kiss me or not,_

_Are we gonna do this or what?_

_I think you know I like you a lot,_

_But you're 'bout to miss your shot._

_Are you gonna kiss me or not?"_

Kisuke whispered in her ear, "subtle, your Aunt is not." He could feel the shakes from her suppressed laughter due to his quip but he also felt her nod of agreement.

As they watched Lily and Coyote swaying tot the music, Coyote looked up at the heavens in exasperation but obeyed both the song and Lily's demand by tilting her face up and kissing her softly. During the kiss Lily's eyes slid closed and when the kiss finally ended she was smiling softly as her green eyes opened back up. Coyote looked down at her with a soft look in his grey eyes and another song began to play. Kushina chuckled lightly as it started, she murmured, "now that's rather appropriate…" As Kisuke glanced at her curiously she explained, the songs name is give your heart a break…" She shrugged before she muttered, "just listen to it."

_**"The day I, first met you,** _

_**You told me you'd never fall in love.** _

_**But now, that I get you,** _

_**I know fear is what it really was.** _

_**Now here we are, so close, yet so far.** _

_**Haven't I passed the test?** _

_**When will, you realize,** _

_**Baby I'm not like the rest?** _

_**Don't wanna break your heart,** _

_**Wanna give your heart a break.** _

_**I know you're scared it's wrong,** _

_**Like you might make a mistake.** _

_**There's just one life to live** _

_**And there's no time to wait(to waste).** _

_**So let me give your heart a break,** _

_**Give your heart a break,** _

_**Let me give your heart a break,** _

_**Your heart a break,** _

_**Oh yeah yeah.** _

_**On Sunday, you went home, alone,** _

_**There were tears in your eyes.** _

_**I called your cell phone, my love,** _

_**But you did not reply** _

_**The world is ours, if we want it,** _

_**We can take it if you just take my hand.** _

_**There's no turning back now,** _

_**Baby try to understand.** _

_**Don't wanna break your heart,** _

_**Wanna give your heart a break** _

_**I know you're scared it's wrong,** _

_**Like you might make a mistake** _

_**There's just one life to live** _

_**And there's no time to wait (to waste)** _

_**So let me give your heart a break,** _

_**Give your heart a break,** _

_**Let me give your heart a break,** _

_**Your heart a break** _

_**There just so much you can take.** _

_**Give your heart a break,** _

_**Let me give your heart a break,** _

_**Your heart a break, oh yeah yeah.** _

_**When your lips are on my lips,** _

_**And our hearts beat as one** _

_**But you slip out of my finger tips** _

_**Every time you run, whoa-oh-whoa-oh-whoa-oh-ahhhh** _

_**Don't wanna break your heart,** _

_**Wanna give your heart a break** _

_**I know you're scared it's wrong,** _

_**Like you might make a mistake** _

_**There's just one life to live** _

_**And there's no time to wait (to waste)** _

_**So let me give your heart a break** _

_**Cause you've been hurt before,** _

_**I can see it in your eyes** _

_**You try to smile it away,** _

_**Some things you can't disguise** _

_**Don't wanna break your heart,** _

_**Baby I can ease the ache (the ache)** _

_**So let me give your heart a break,** _

_**Give your heart a break,** _

_**Let me give your heart a break,** _

_**Your heart a break** _

_**There just so much you can take.** _

_**Give your heart a break,** _

_**Let me give your heart a break,** _

_**Your heart a break, oh yeah yeah.** _

_**The day I first met you, you told me you'd never fall in love."** _

As they watched the pair sway to the music, she heard as Kisuke asked her, "are you happy, my dearest muse?"

Kushina smiled happily as tears welled up in her eyes before she murmured to him, "I'm ecstatic. Now if only a few other people would follow the nudges I've been giving them…" She pouted briefly as Kisuke chuckled and led her away from the scene, she glanced over her shoulder for one last look at the pair.


	16. Chapter Fifteen: Snakes Versus Lions

**Chapter Fifteen:** **Snakes Versus Lions**

* * *

 

Kushina golden eyes gleamed with satisfaction as she watched the students who had volunteered to perform in the prank on the professors learn the dances that they would be doing. When she had introduced the fifth member of the group who would be performing the Y.M.C.A. dance and song the other four members had blinked in shock, Kushina hadn't been able to resist taking a picture of their gaping expressions. She snickered inwardly as she watched a few of the boys twitching at the moves that they would be performing as well as the ones that the girls were practicing.

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The next day, Kushina signaled for the first prank to begin and Ernie MacMillan got up from his seat after he pasted a slightly panicked expression on his face. He promptly began dancing the Conga as the beat filled the air from a flick of Kushina's wand, he was joined by other students from the other houses as he danced around the room. The Professors boggled at the odd dance that was being performed seemingly unwillingly by the students, this was due to the signs of fake struggle that the other students were displaying. A few moments after the song started the song stopped, as the music ceased the students who had joined the line dance halted in their tracks, to the amusement of the students watching, Albus, Minerva and Lily turned toward Sirius, James and Remus they then cleared their throats and stared at the trio reproachfully.

The three men stared back at the accusing glares in confusion before they asked in chorus, "what are you staring at us for?" The three men then blinked innocently as they stared in befuddlement at the other three adults that were staring accusingly at them.

Lily stared at her adoptive brother, his husband and her best friends husband for several long moments before she asked, "did you three have anything to do with that?" She pointed down at the students now making their way back to their seats as she raised an eyebrow.

Remus stared back at the green-eyed woman before he said in a deadpan tone, "not as far as I know."

After several diagnostic charms had been cast on the students involved and the charms all came up negative the matter was still a mystery to the Professors. The students didn't seem to be affected anymore nor did they seem to have an urge to dance more, so the Professors shrugged it off as a one-time prank.

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However, the very next day at dinner, some of the students who hadn't been affected the day before at lunch got up and began to dance to the song 'walk like an Egyptian.' They were perfectly following the music video that had been shot many years before, once again all of the houses were affected along with a variety of years. Again the diagnostic charms cast on the affected students came back negative and again the marauders denied any involvement in the prank. The matter was again dropped after several hours of fruitless charm casting, especially since those involved didn't seem to feel the need to start dancing again.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

However to the frustration of the Professors and the Headmaster, students got up and danced the Macarena, this time not a single student remained unaffected. To the inner amusement of the students, before the marauders could be asked this time they yelled out in chorus, "no, we had absolutely nothing to do with this!"

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Three days later on Saturday November ninth, just before dinner ended Kushina had signaled her clones to dispel and ended the genjutsu hiding the five boys from view. Neville was blushing bright red from the catcalls he was getting from his girlfriend and the other female students at his fireman uniform. Theodore had been dressed up in tight black jeans with tan chaps over them, he was wearing a light blue cowboy shirt and a dark grey cowboy hat, he was blushing bright red at the whistles he was receiving from the crowd. Blaise, on the other hand, was wearing skin tight buckskin pants, a vest made out of the same material and moccasins, his hair had been lengthened to reach just below his shoulder blades, he seemed completely unaffected by the whistles and catcalls he received.

Dean was wearing a pair of light blue jeans, no shirt, hiking boots and a leather tool belt, as well as a hardhat. However the one that had the hall completely shocked was the last person, only Kushina and the other four dancers had been aware of his identity until now. Kushina's lips twitched in amusement when she realized that the fifth dancer had decided to forgo a shirt with his costume, when she glanced him over she started at his feet and trailed her gaze up his body.

He had decided to wear shiny black leather boots with buckles and zippers on them, his muscular legs were encased in skintight pants. His leather jacket hung open to expose his extremely muscular chest, which caused most of the hall to drool that included both males and females of the population. The black and white helmet with the police shield insignia was perched upon spiky blue hair while a pair of bright blue eyes peeked out from behind a pair of mirrored sunglasses, Grimmjow grinned at the reactions he received but the one reaction that pleased him the most was the low growl that escaped Uryu's throat and mouth.

To the amusement of the students and the puzzlement of the Professors, the five began dancing to the Y.M.C.A. song by the Village People, as the song finished the five boys took a bow. Remus groaned before he muttered, "I should have known…" James looked at him oddly and Remus, after taking one look at his mate, said, "Kushina's behind this entire debacle, I bet you she is."

Lily stared down at her goddaughter and adoptive niece before she asked, "is he right? Were you behind all of this dancing," she asked in disbelief.

Kushina snickered before she nodded with a grin, "of course, however it wouldn't have gone so well if I didn't have the assistance of almost the entire student body." She leaned back against the table with a smug look of satisfaction on her face, to the surprise of both the students and the Professors the four founders portraits started laughing.

When one of the Slytherins asked what was so funny, Godric replied with amusement laced in his voice, "because, Salazar would have done the exact same thing. However I don't think he would have drawn out the prank as much as she did," he seemed very much amused at that.

"Indeed, that's more like what you would have done than what Salazar would have," Helga quipped lightly.

Rowena chuckled and then said with amusement glowing in her blue eyes, "it seems that the little Gryffindor is a perfect mixture of the two of you."

Kushina glanced over at them before she smugly stated, "I'll take that as a compliment, my fair ladies."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Six days after the mass prank by the students on the Professors, Kushina and the Gryffindor Quidditch team was standing across from Astoria and her team. Kushina smirked at the younger Greengrass girl before she said, "alright, I'll take that bet and double the stakes. If Gryffindor wins by less than forty points, I'll pay the forfeit of your choice, however, if Gryffindor wins by more than forty points then all of you have to pay the forfeit of my choice. Deal?"

With that she glanced at the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team, Daphne was staring at her in bemusement but nodded in agreement to Kushina's proposal. Theo, Blaise, Tracy and Lillian were a bit more wary than the Greengrass sisters but after several minutes of contemplation agreed to her terms. Draco, on the other hand, stared at the rest of his team in amusement before he said, "thanks for the offer but I'll pass on that bet." With that said he pushed away from the wall that he'd been leaning against before he walked down the hallway toward the dungeons and the Slytherin common room.

The rest of his team and the entire Gryffindor team, except for Kushina, stared at his quickly receding back in shock. Kushina snickered mentally in amusement as Anubis yawned before he said, _**'it would appear that the Dragon of Bad Faith has learned to be wary of the bets you make, My Dear Lady.'**_

Thanatos snickered before he commented, _**'I would have thought that most of your fellow students would have learned by now that you, "**_ _abhor gambling and as such leave nothing to chance."_ _ **Though it is rather odd that out of all of the Quidditch teams only the young Malfoy has learned this…'**_   Thanatos trailed off into a silence weighted by confusion.

Kushina snorted before she mentally muttered back to them, _**'obviously, he actually paid attention to the fact that I win most of my bets…'**_   During her mental conversation with her Zanpakuto the rest of the two Quidditch teams left the area, Kushina spotted Orihime and Tonks further up the corridor and smirked. She then said distractedly to her Zanpakuto spirits, _**'I'd love to chat some more but I have a few more bets to make…'**_

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The very next day the stands of the Quidditch stadium was packed full and Susan Bones of Hufflepuff had volunteered to comment for the first Game of the season. In the locker room Kushina stood in front of the chalkboard and said confidently, "we've trained hard, we've trained well. And if you don't want to face what the Slytherins consider a forfeit, than you had better make sure we have more than a forty point lead on them!" She glared at the entire team as if to say, 'or else face the consequences.'

She then smirked and said slyly, "after all if we win than you will all get to see what I consider a fair forfeit." With that said she clapped her hands together before she began to double-check her Quidditch gear, all around her the rest of the team followed her lead and began to check their own gear. After the seven teenagers had checked their gear, they then picked up their brooms and waited for the signal to take to the pitch. To her satisfaction all of them were immersed in light meditation, inside her mind she felt Anubis duck into one of the buildings. Unlike herself and Thanatos, Anubis didn't enjoy flying, oh he liked watching Quidditch matches well enough, he just didn't care to view them from the prospective of a flyer.

'Then again,' Kushina thought to herself, 'he is a terrestrial being after all. I've loved flying ever since I first borrowed Thanatos' wings, but Anubis' sacred beast is the Jackal while Thanatos' is the Crow…' She shook herself out of her thoughts as the bell that signaled for them to make their way to the pitch. Except for herself and Draco the two teams took to the air, they did loops around the pitch before they took their places above their captains and Madam Hooch. Gold eyes met silver across four feet, Madam Hooch stood between them and looked at them both before she said sternly, "I want a nice clean game. From both of you," she was a bit wary, no one knew how the truce between the pair would interpret the Quidditch match after all.

The pair shook hands before they mounted their brooms, Kushina on the Firebolt and Draco on his Nimbus two-thousand and one, they then flew up to join their teams. The two teams had a different line up from the last time they had played against each other, Susan noted the different players for each team as the captains settled into position. "Keeper for Gryffindor is Ron Weasley, while Keeper for Slytherin is Lillian Moon," she noted verbally and in a way almost absentmindedly. She continued commenting, "Kushina Potter-Lupin is now the Captain of the Gryffindor Team as well as it's seeker, however it would appear that Tracy Davis and Draco Malfoy have changed their positions."

All of the students who hadn't gotten the memo gaped at the pitch in shock as Tracy hovered across from Kushina while Draco had taken her old place at just behind and slightly to the right of Daphne. Susan continued her commentary by saying, "Astoria Greengrass and Blaise Zabini are still the beaters for Slytherin while Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan are now the primary beaters for Gryffindor instead of being the reserves after the graduation of the Weasley Twins."

She paused for a moment before she said wryly, "it appears that Katie Bell has decided to relinquish her position as primary chaser and take a position as reserve chaser. The new chasers for Gryffindor are… Ginny Weasley," a resounding cheer rose up from the Gryffindor stands, Susan grinned then said, "next are the Creevey Brothers, Dennis and Colin!" Another cheer rose from the students clad in red and gold.

Susan then smirked before she said, "for the Slytherin's the chasers are… Draco Malfoy, the white dragon of the serpent house! Daphne Greengrass and Theodore Nott, who I've been told is still dating Lee Jordan, so all of the ladies in the crowd, that means he's off limits!"

Minerva's eyes flashed before she sternly said, " **MISS BONES!** "

Susan grinned unrepentantly before she said impishly, "sorry Professor!"

In the air Kushina laughed so hard she almost fell off her broom while Theo blushed bright red. Draco snickered at the look of immense embarrassment that his fellow chaser had on his face, Daphne had rolled her eyes at the antics of the two boys of the trio.

Madam Hooch tossed the Quaffle into the air, then released the Bludgers and finally she released the snitch. The game began with Gryffindor in possession, however the first toss didn't score and Slytherin took possession of the Quaffle. An hour after the game began, the score was tied at fifty points apiece, Kushina spotted the snitch hovering just above the grass out of the corner of her eye.

Thankfully the snitch wasn't anywhere near Tracy, however it was fairly nearby her, she carefully drove upwards in a lazy spiral. Tracy glanced up at where she was heading and after not seeing the snitch near where she was going assumed that Kushina was merely heading upwards to get a better view of the pitch. Kushina carefully double-checked to make sure the snitch hadn't flitted away during the time it took for her to get to the right height, sure enough it was still in the same location, she casually drifted until she was directly over the area the snitch was in.

Ginny smirked as she noticed what Kushina was doing, in some ways she wondered just how Kushina's second animagus form hunted, dives were Kushina's specialty along with aerobatic maneuvers that even the best of the professional Quidditch players wouldn't attempt. Kushina hardly ever used the second animagus form, in fact no one had even seen it, when she asked why Kushina didn't use her second form Kushina had remarked softly, 'it's too easy to get lost in it. Far too easy to lose myself in the freedom it gives me, I mean what would mess with a huge predator like a dragon besides another dragon?' She had grinned at Ginny before she commented with glee in her voice and eyes, 'not too mention it's too much fun to fly like that, if I did it too often I'd never want to fly any other way again.' Everyone that had heard her explanation had stared at her in disbelief, they had been surprised by her reasoning for not using her second form that often.

Ginny was shaken out of her thoughts by Kushina suddenly diving, within seconds she had leveled out over the pitch. She had then thrust her hand up into the air, the gold wings of the snitch fluttered uselessly in the air, it's body trapped in her fist. Gryffindor had won two hundred and ten points to fifty, they had won well over the margin set by the Slytherin team for the bet. The youngest Weasley heard Astoria groan from across the pitch, Malfoy was nearer to her and she heard as he muttered, "and that's why I didn't take the bet. Haven't they learned by now that she's good enough to go professional if she wanted to…" Ginny snorted quietly in amusement at his muttering but inwardly she agreed with him.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The next week in the morning at breakfast, Kushina climbed up onto the Gryffindor table and cleared her throat. The rest of the students quickly silenced their chatter to listen to her announcement, even the professors decide to quiet themselves to listen. Kushina smirked at the hall before she said, "before the Quidditch match last week, the Slytherin team except for Draco Malfoy accepted a bet from me."

The four houses stared at the sheepish teens while Severus groaned quietly and shook his head in exasperation. Kushina giggled at the sight before she schooled her face into an impassive mask and continued by saying, "the agreement was that if they won the bet than I would pay the forfeit of their choice. However if I won than they would all have to pay the forfeit of my choice."

She cleared her throat again and grinned at the gob smacked expressions on the rest of the students faces at her little proclamation. She clicked her tongue softly before she said, "the forfeit that I've chosen is this: everyone who lost the bet with me will have to get up on the table and sing a song of my choice. There will be four solo songs and two duets that will be preformed by the losers of the bet."

With that announcement she leapt off the table and said as she walked over to the wall that the founders portrait were on, "in the last week I've had them memorizing the lyrics to the songs they're going to be singing."

Astoria groaned quietly before she asked her sister in a muttered hiss, "how did we let her talk us into this?"

Daphne muttered back to her baby sister, "we lost a bet, that's how." Theodore, Tracy, Lillian and Blaise also muttered their agreement as to how they got into their current predicament.

Theodore looked up and noticed his boyfriend standing next to Kushina who was leaning between the portraits of Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin. He groaned before letting his head hit the table with a dull sounding thunk, the rest of the team looked up and over to where he had been looking to see what caused him to do that. Immediately they spotted the reason for his actions, not only would he have to dance and sing, he was going to have to do it in front of Lee.

As per the bet Daphne got up on the Slytherin table first and Kushina flicked her wand to start the music. Only the music started up, she hadn't wanted the other students to accuse the losers of the bet that they were only lip syncing rather than singing. Daphne started to rock her hips and shoulders along with bringing her hands over her head and doing a shimmy to the intro before she started singing,

_"You say it's all in my head_

_And the things I think just don't make sense_

_So where you been then? Don't go all coy_

_Don't turn it 'round on me like it's my fault_

_See I can see that look in your eyes_

_The one that shoots me each and every time_

_You grace me with your cold shoulder_

_Whenever you look at me I wish I was her_

_You shower me with words made of knives_

_Whenever you look at me I wish I was her_

_These days when I see you_

_You make it look like I'm see-through_

_Do tell me why you waste our time_

_When your heart ain't admitting you're not satisfied_

_You know I know just how you feel_

_I'm starting to find myself feeling that way too_

_When you grace me with your cold shoulder_

_Whenever you look at me I wish I was her_

_You shower me with words made of knives_

_Whenever you look at me I wish I was her_

_Time and time again I play the role of fool_

_(Just for you)_

_Even in the daylight when you came in_

_(I don't see you)_

_Try to look for things I hear but our eyes never find_

_Though I do know how you play_

_You grace me with your cold shoulder_

_Whenever you look at me I wish I was her_

_You shower me with words made of knives_

_Whenever you look at me I wish I was her_

_You grace me with your cold shoulder_

_Whenever you look at me I wish I was her_

_You shower me with words made of knives_

_Whenever you look at me I wish I was her."_ Before Daphne jumped off the table she helped Tracy and Lillian onto the table, Daphne was blushing the entire time she was helping them. The tint was from not only the slight exhaustion from dancing and singing but also from embarrassment due to the applause from the other students.

The two girls looked at each other nervously before they rolled their shoulders to loosen their muscles. After they were done loosening their muscles, Kushina started the song and immediately the pair began to sing,

_"I still see your coat hanging on the door_

_Never let anybody put one there before_

_My pillow's got your head printed on it_

_Baby, of all the guys you were my favorite_

_Don't ask, me why_

_I just can't say goodbye_

_No, not tonight_

_No, I just can't say it_

_'Cause I'm gonna hold on, yeah I'm gonna hold on_

_Baby, gotta keep holding on to what we had_

_'Cause I don't wanna move on, so I gotta hold on_

_Baby, because you and me are sinking like quicksand_

_Like quicksand, like quicksand_

_Baby, because you and me are sinking like quicksand_

_Like quicksand, baby like quicksand_

_Baby, because you and me are sinking like quicksand_

_You came along, I didn't know of love_

_But now I know that sometimes it's just not enough_

_I hear your footsteps in my corridor_

_But it is just my heart, it's pounding like before_

_Wish I could try_

_But I just can't say goodbye_

_No, not tonight_

_No, I just can't say it_

_'Cause I'm gonna hold on, yeah I'm gonna hold on_

_Baby, gotta keep holding on to what we had_

_'Cause I don't wanna move on, so I gotta hold on_

_Baby, because you and me are sinking like quicksand_

_Like quicksand, like quicksand_

_Baby, because you and me are sinking like quicksand_

_Like quicksand, baby like quicksand_

_Baby, because you and me are sinking like quicksand_

_'Cause the ground is breaking, I can feel it shaking_

_Wish it was that easy, but it's not that easy_

_Gotta hold my hands up, gotta keep my head up_

_Gotta keep on breathing, baby even if we're sinking_

_Even if we're sinking, baby even if we're sinking_

_Even if we are sinking_

_'Cause I just-just gotta, gotta hold_

_(Hold)_

_'Cause I'm gonna hold on, yeah I'm gonna hold on_

_Baby, gotta keep holding on to what we had_

_'Cause I don't wanna move on, so I gotta hold on_

_Baby, because you and me are sinking like quicksand_

_Like quicksand, like quicksand_

_Baby, because you and me are sinking like quicksand_

_Like quicksand, baby like quicksand_

_Baby, because you and me are sinking like quicksand_

_Only got one life to live_

_We don't even need a piece of sand_

_Only you and me_

_We need to hold on, and hold on, and_

_Only got one life to live_

_We don't even need a piece of sand_

_Only you and me_

_We need to hold on, and hold on, and hold on_

_And hold on, and hold on, and hold on_

_And hold on, and hold on, and hold on_

_And hold on, and hold on, and hold on_

_And hold on, and hold on, and hold on."_ The pair panted from the exertion of singing almost continuously and bowed to a round of applause.

To the same round of applause the pair leapt off the table to drop down beside the still embarrassed Daphne. Theodore groaned but climbed up on the table, in his opinion he had the worst song out of the six to sing, him having to sing it in front of his boyfriend didn't raise his opinion any. Lee caught his eye and flashed the younger teen a reassuring smile, Theo sighed and closed his eyes before he took a deep breath then he signaled Kushina to start the song. As soon as the song started he started dancing with his hands in the air and sang to the music, he kept his eyes closed to block out the crowd, as he sang he remembered a bit of advice that Kushina had given him. ' _If you feel too nervous just pretend that it's just you and someone else, pretend you're just performing for them or for yourself if that makes you more comfortable.'_ So as he started singing he kept the thought that he was only doing this performance for Lee, he skipped the part that Kushina told him to skip and took up exactly where she told him to begin,

_"Ooh, I'm overdue_

_Gimme some room_

_I'm coming through_

_Paid my dues_

_In the mood_

_Me and my girls gonna shake the room_

_DJ's spinning (show your hands)_

_Let's get dirrty (that's my jam)_

_I need that, uh, to get me off_

_Sweat'n til my clothes come off_

_It's explosive, speakers are pumpin' (oh)_

_Still jumping, six in the morning_

_Table dancing, glasses are crashin' (oh)_

_No question, time for some action_

_Temperature's up (can you feel it)_

_'bout to erupt_

_Gonna get my girls_

_Get your boys_

_Gonna make some noise_

_Wanna get rowdy_

_Gonna get a little unruly_

_Get it fired up in a hurry_

_Wanna get dirrty_

_It's about time that I came to start the party_

_Sweat dripping over my body_

_Dancing getting just a little naughty_

_Wanna get dirrty_

_It's about time for my arrival_

_Ah, heat is up_

_So ladies, fellas_

_Drop your cups_

_Body's hot_

_Front to back_

_Now move your ass (ha)_

_I like that_

_Tight hip huggers (low for ho)_

_Shake a little somethin' (on the floor)_

_I need that, uh, to get me off_

_Sweat'n til my clothes come off_

_Let's get open, cause a commotion (ooh oh)_

_We're still going, eight in the morning_

_There's no stopping, we keep it popping (oh)_

_hot rockin', everyone's talking_

_Give all you got (give it to me)_

_Just hit the spot_

_Gonna get my girls_

_Get your boys_

_Gonna make some noise_

_Rowdy_

_Gonna get a little unruly_

_Get it fired up in a hurry_

_Wanna get dirrty_

_It's about time that I came to start the party_

_Ooh sweat dripping over my body_

_dancin' getting just a little naughty_

_Wanna get dirrty (oh, oh)_

_It's about time for my arrival_

_Here it comes, it's the one_

_You've been wait'n on_

_Get up get it rough_

_Yup, that's what's up_

_Giving just what you love_

_To the maximum_

_Uh oh, here we go (here we go)_

_what to do when the music_

_Starts to drop_

_That's when we take it_

_To the parking lot_

_And I betcha somebody's_

_Gonna call the cops_

_Uh oh's, here we go's (here we go)_

_Ohh ooh ohh, yeah yeah..._

_Wanna get rowdy (rowdy, yeah)_

_Gonna get a little unruly (ruly)_

_Get it fired up in a hurry (hurry)_

_Wanna get dirrty_

_It's about time that I came to start the party (party)_

_Sweat dripping over my body (body)_

_dancin getting just a little naughty_

_Wanna get dirrty_

_It's about time for my arrival_

_Rowdy_

_Gonna get a little unruly_

_(Ooh oh)_

_Get it fired up in a hurry_

_(Ooh oh)_

_Wanna get dirrty_

_It's about time that I came to start the party_

_Ooh sweat dripping over my body_

_dancin' getting just a little naughty_

_Wanna get dirrty_

_It's about time for my arrival_

_Rowdy_

_(Let's get dirrty)_

_Gonna get a little unruly_

_(I wanna get dirrty)_

_Get it fired up in a hurry_

_(Let's get dirrty)_

_Wanna get dirrty_

_It's about time that I came to start the party_

_(Ooh yeah)_

_Sweat dripping over my body_

_(Let's get dirrty)_

_dancin getting just a little naughty_

_(Wanna get dirrty)_

_Wanna get dirrty_

_(Ooh yeah)_

_It's about time for my arrival."_ He panted as the song ended and blushed bright red at the wolf whistles from the crowd at the dancing he had done, not to mention the lyrics of the song.

He jumped down from the table after he helped Astoria onto the tabletop, he then hurried out of the hall to a loud round of applause, all he cared for was to get out of the outfit that Kushina had forced him into. He couldn't believe she had him wearing a pair of black leather pants, Doc Martin boots and a fishnet shirt, he didn't notice that Lee had already left the Great Hall as soon as the song had ended nor did he notice Kushina's smirk.

Astoria smirked down at a suddenly very pale Draco, who was gaping in shock at the dark blue corset like top that she was wearing along with a pair of threadbare cutoff shorts. When the song started instead of staying in place and dancing like the others she stalked up the table toward where Draco was sitting. At certain points of the song she stopped and raised her hands over her head while rotating her hips,

_"All the single ladies_

_(All the single ladies)_

_All the single ladies_

_(All the single ladies)_

_All the single ladies_

_(All the single ladies)_

_All the singles ladies_

_Now put your hands up!_

_Up in the club, we just broke up_

_I'm doing my own lil' thing_

_You decided to dip and now you wanna trip_

_Cuz another brother noticed me_

_I'm up on him, He up on me_

_Don't pay him any attention_

_just cried my tears, gave you three good years_

_You can't be mad at me_

_Cuz if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it_

_If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it_

_Don't be mad once you see that he want it_

_Cuz if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it_

_Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!_

_Whoa! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!_

_Cuz if you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it_

_If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it_

_Don't be mad once you see that he want it_

_Cuz if you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it_

_Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!_

_Whoa! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!_

_I got gloss on my lips, a man on my hips_

_Hold me tighter than my Dereon jeans_

_Acting up, drink in my cup_

_I could care less what you think_

_I need no permission, did I mention_

_Don't pay him attention_

_Cuz you had your turn_

_And now you gonna learn_

_What it really feels like to miss "B"_

_Cuz if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it_

_If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it_

_Don't be mad once you see that he want it_

_Cuz if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it_

_Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!_

_Whoa! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!_

_Cuz if you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it_

_If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it_

_Don't be mad once you see that he want it_

_Cuz if you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it_

_Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!_

_Whoa! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!_

_Don't treat me to these things of the world_

_I'm not that kinda girl_

_Your love is what I prefer, what I deserve_

_Here's a man that makes me then takes me_

_And delivers me to a destiny, to infinity and beyond_

_Pull me into your arms_

_Say I'm the one you want_

_If you don't, you'll be alone_

_And like a ghost I'll be gone_

_All the single ladies_

_(All the single ladies)_

_All the single ladies_

_(All the single ladies)_

_All the single ladies_

_(All the single ladies)_

_All the singles ladies_

_Now put your hands up!_

_Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!_

_Whoa! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!_

_Whoa! Oh! Oh!_

_Cuz if you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it_

_If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it_

_Don't be mad once you see that he want it_

_If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it_

_Whoa! Oh! Oh!_

_Cuz if you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it_

_If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it_

_Don't be mad once you see that he want it_

_If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it_

_Whoa! Oh! Oh!"_ As the song ended she stared Draco in the eye, she had told Kushina last year that he would actually have a chance with her if he dropped the arrogance, bigotry and bullying behavior that he usually had.

Astoria kept eye contact with him as she slid off the table and sat beside Tracy and Lillian, after several moments Blaise climbed up on the table and Orihime climbed up on the table as well. Blaise was wearing black slacks and a skin tight black tee shirt while Orihime was wearing black skintight pants as well as an off the shoulder black shirt with red high heels. The pair began dancing to the same moves that was used in the movie but only some of them, they sang as well as danced,

Blaise: _"I got chills they're multiplying_

_And I'm losing control_

_Cause the power you're supplying_

_It's Electrifying!"_

Orihime: _"You better shape up cause I need a man_

_And my heart is set on you_

_You better shape up, you better understand_

_To my heart I must be true(nothin left, nothin left for me to do)"_

Both: _"You're the one that I want(You are the one I want) oh oh oh honey_

_You're the one that I want(You are the one I want) oh oh oh honey_

_You're the one that I want(You are the one I want) oh oh oh honey_

_The one that I neeeeeed oh yes indee-ee-heed."_

Orihime: _"If you're filled with affection_

_You're too shy to convey_

_Meditate in my direction_

_Feel your way."_

Both: _"I better shape up, cause you need a man (I need a man)_

_Who can keep me satisfied_

_I better shape up, if I'm gonna prove (you better prove)_

_That my faith is justified_

_Are you sure? Yes I'm sure down deep inside_

_You're the one that I want (You are the one I want)oh oh oh honey_

_You're the one that I want(You are the one I want) oh oh oh honey_

_You're the one that I want(You are the one I want) oh oh oh honey_

_The one that I neeeeed oh yes indee-ee-heed_

_You're the one that I want(You are the one I want) oh oh oh honey_

_You're the one that I want(You are the one I want) oh oh oh honey_

_You're the one that I want(You are the one I want) oh oh oh honey_

_The one that I neeeed oh yes indee-ee-heed_

_You're the one that I want(You are the one I want) oh oh oh honey_

_You're the one that I want(You are the one I want) oh oh oh honey_

_You're the one that I want(You are the one I want) oh oh oh honey_

_The one that I neeeed oh yes indee-ee-heed_

_You're the one that I want(You are the one I want) oh oh oh honey_

_You're the one that I want(You are the one I want) oh oh oh honey_

_You're the one that I want(You are the one I want) oh oh oh honey_

_The one that I neeeeeed oh yes indee-ee-heed."_

To the shock of the professors and the students after Blaise and Orihime's performance when they got down from the Slytherin table, Tonks climbed up on the Staff table with a blush on her face. Jushiro raised a single dark eyebrow at the bright red blush that she sported, as the song began she started to sing and dance to the beat,

_"I'll be yours in springtime when the flowers are in bloom._

_We'll wander through the meadows, in all their sweet perfume._

_And every night I'll hold you tight beneath that April moon._

_Ahhh, Ahhh, Ahhh_

_I'll be your girl for all seasons, all the year through._

_Your girl for all seasons,_

_'Cause I love, yes I love to be everything to you, just you._

_I'll be yours in summer, when we're playin' in the sand._

_We'll spend the day together, makin' love and gettin' tanned._

_And on the beach at sunset, when we're walking hand in hand._

_Ahhh, Ahhh, Ahhh_

_I'll be your girl for all seasons, all the year through._

_Your girl for all seasons,_

_'Cause I love, yes I love to be everything to you, just you._

_If you fall in the fall, you'll see, September can be heavenly._

_If you fall, say you'll fall for me,_

_When autumn leaves are fallin' from the trees._

_I'll be yours in winter, when the snow is on the ground._

_I'll warm you through December, and I'll always be around._

_We'll kiss below the mistletoe, when Santa comes to town._

_Ahhh, Ahhh, Ahhh_

_I'll be your girl for all seasons, all the year through._

_Your girl for all seasons,_

_'Cause I love, yes I love to be everything to you, just you._

_Girl for all seasons, I'll be your girl for all seasons._

_Summer in sunshine, winter in snowflakes._

_Springtime in showers, falling in love._

_Summer, winter, spring, and fall_

_Yes, I'll be everything to you."_ After she finished singing Tonks opened her eyes and blushed a brighter red as she caught the look on Jushiro's face, her hair turned the same color as her face due to her embarrassment. She cleared her throat as she clambered down from the table and after she waved at the students she ran out of the Great Hall.

Jushiro blinked in puzzlement at her actions before he turned to her older cousin and asked, "why did she leave like that? She's a good singer," he added thoughtfully while frowning in confusion.

Sirius smirked at his former captains confusion before he said casually, "Dora doesn't think she's that good of a singer. Not to mention she doesn't do that well when singing in front of a large crowd, perhaps you should go find her and tell her your opinion on her singing…"

Jushiro hummed thoughtfully for a bit before he nodded firmly, he patted his former lieutenant on the shoulder before he said, "thank you for the advice, Kaien…Sirius. I still have yet to get used to that…" he shook his head at the odd thought that his former lieutenant was alive and well. He then commented, "I think I will track her down and tell her about my opinion," with that said the white haired man stalked out of the Great Hall after the fleeing Auror.

Sirius turned his attention back toward his breakfast and muttered under his breath, "no problem Captain. Always happy to help if it means I can get back to my breakfast and get you out of my hair…" He silently thanked the King that Cassiopeia was a relatively quiet and relaxed child, he had the feeling that she was going to take after Severus the most when it came to temperament.

* * *

Theo had fled the Great Hall as soon as he could, he almost couldn't believe that Kushina had made him sing and dance to **THAT** song in front of Lee, and while wearing this outfit! The dark haired boy blushed a light red as he remembered some of the lyrics that he'd sung along with the moves that she insisted they all learn. As he approached the staircase to the dungeon he spotted Lee leaning against the wall near the entrance to the staircase. He was clearly waiting for Theo to come down to the dungeon and was watching him expectantly, Theo inwardly cursed though outwardly he simply flashed the darker colored boy a nervous grin.

Lee chuckled lightly at the look of mild panic on his boyfriends face before he reached out and snagged him by the wrist. He gently tugged the younger teen into his arms, wrapping his arms around the slim teens leather clad waist, he then nuzzled Theo's temple. As he nuzzled his boyfriends temple he murmured in a husky voice, "nice moves, hotshot…" Lee couldn't help his grin at the groan that comment elicited from Theodore, who had buried his face into the crook of Lee's neck as he groaned. Lee bit his lower lip to keep from laughing at the Slytherin's reactions, the dark haired teen was just too easy to tease. Well he was so long as it was Theo doing the teasing anyway, he would blush a bright red, groan and/or splutter in indignation depending upon the ammunition used.

* * *

Draco watched in amusement as Astoria sauntered out of the Hall, however when he noticed several younger boys staring after the young beater a growl slipped out of his throat. He then sat up and glared at all of the leering boys, his glare all but said, 'keep your filthy hands off of her if you know what's good for you…'

Blaise noticed that several of the boys that had been drooling over Astoria had blanched in horror before they promptly looked away from her. He looked over in time to see Draco giving the leering teens another glare to warn them off, his lips twitched in amusement. Inwardly Blaise wondered how long it would take before Draco caught a clue that Astoria might, just might accept a date from him now. He also wondered if Draco was still taking that dream suppressant or if he had stopped taking it.

Orihime noticed the smug smirk on the Italian born wizards face and asked softly, "what is it that has you so amused, Blaise?"

He chuckled as he ducked his head down to whisper in her ear, "just the look on Draco's face. I wonder how long it's going to take for Draco to attempt to put a ring on Astoria!" The grey-eyed girl giggled at that comment before she kissed his cheek and ducked out from under his arm, she then walked out of the Great hall. He put his hand up to his cheek where she kissed him and gaped after the red haired girl in shock.

* * *

Tonks exited the Great Hall and paused briefly in contemplation before she left the Entrance Hall. She slipped out the front doors, then walked down across the lawn to a large sprawling live oak, upon reaching the oak tree she leaned back against the trunk. After a few moments Jushiro exited the castle himself and headed straight toward her, as he approached her, the now pink haired woman bit her lower lip.

The white haired man leaned against the trunk beside her and after several tense moments of silence said, "you're a pretty good singer, you know…" She stared at him in disbelief, she quickly shook her head in denial however when she opened her mouth to protest the statement he clapped his hand over it to silence her. He raised a single dark eyebrow at her and said sternly, "don't argue with me about it. That's my opinion and frankly as far as I'm concerned it's the only one that counts to me, you're supposed to smile and simply accept the compliment."

She blinked up at him before she tugged his hand away from her mouth, she then smiled at him and said, "thank you for the compliment, Jushiro." He smiled down at her before he tilted her head up and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, his lips just barely brushing hers before he pulled back. Her eyes opened slowly from where they had fluttered shut at the kiss, to his surprise her lips curled up into a soft smile before he gripped the back of his neck under his hair and drew him back down for another kiss.

The second kiss was actually a series of progressively deeper kisses until the kisses were open mouthed and Jushiro had her pinned against the tree's trunk. Her hands were buried in his waist-length hair, this time when he drew back both of them were out of breath and their lips were lightly swollen from being bruised from the kisses. He chuckled lightly before he kissed his way along her cheek then nibbled on her right earlobe and murmured in her ear, "I should add that you're a terrific kisser to the list of things that I think you're good at…"

Her only response to the kisses then the nibbling was to gasp and when he whispered in her ear she laughed breathily before she pulled him into another kiss. He laughed into the kiss at her enthusiasm but willingly dipped his head back down to continue kissing the woman who had managed to steal his heart by treating him like anyone else. For simply refusing to see his former disease as something that could scare her away from him like all of the other people who had claimed that they were in love with him, she had simply by being herself, set him free. And although she didn't know it, but by doing that she had earned the absolute love and affection of not only Jushiro but all those of his division as well as Shunsui Kyoraku.

* * *

Tracy, Lillian and Daphne watched in amusement at the look on Blaise's face when Orihime kissed his cheek. Tracy smirked before she asked the other two girls with a sly tone, "how long do you think it'll be before Blaise breaks down and asks her on a date?"

Lillian tilted her head to the left as she contemplated the question her friend posed, "a week… Maybe two… It depend on how nervous he gets," she said after several moments of thought.

Daphne smirked before she stated confidently as she crossed her arms over her chest, "I say that it'll be anywhere from three weeks to two months. Orihime makes him very nervous, with good reason, I mean she's adored by all of the students of Hogwarts not to mention the Professors, our guests and the fact that Kushina's cousin is one of her good friends…"

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While the rest of the school was having dinner Kushina was entering the office that Albus had given her at the beginning of the school year. He had said, "you're a Professor now, thus you need your own office. I know that you use the Room of Requirement for your classroom because it can be either as large as you need or as small as you need it to be. However this office will allow you to be available to the students outside of Gryffindor," with that statement he had won the argument before Kushina could have begun to protest.

Kushina shook her head as she remembered the reactions Hermione and Ron had to finding out that the Headmaster had forced her to accept an office. As she sat down at her desk she noticed a pile of parchment on the corner of the desk. She frowned slightly before she murmured quietly as she picked up the small pile, "well, well, well. What have we here…"

She opened the letter at the top of the pile of parchment and read it aloud,

_"Dear Kushina,_

_You requested that I write a series of proposals concerning the changes that I'd like to implement concerning the education and safety of the students of Hogwarts._

_I have written six proposals concerning new classes as well as proposals concerning improvements to the wards and grounds. You can make notations of what you believe would need more attention of course, I have also included a list of classes that I believe need a larger budget to become truly beneficial to the students._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

_Headmaster of Hogwarts_

_Order of Merlin, First Class_

_Grand Sorcerer_

_Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards_

_Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot."_ She hummed as she placed the letter off to the side and picked up the first list which appeared to contain the list of classes that needed a larger budget.

She snorted before she muttered to herself, "he even included the reasons for the enlarged budget…" She shook her head before she began reading the list aloud to herself quietly, "Potions: needs a larger budget to buy more and better ingredients for student use. As well as for more esoteric ingredients. Astronomy: needs a larger budget to buy several Lunascopes, several galaxy models for nights with immense cloud cover and more telescopes of higher quality. Flying: needs a larger budget for more up-to-date brooms to teach the first years how to fly. Muggle Studies: needs a larger budget for possible field trips. Care of Magical Creatures: needs it for a better and safer environment (see list for the updates to the grounds for details) and to be able to import more rare creatures for study."

She looked over the list twice before she marked the list at the top as approved, she then set it aside before she picked up the next sheet of parchment to read it. She hummed in satisfaction as she read it over, her golden eyes gleamed in pleasure as she read about some of the proposed ward updates. That gleam brightened at the proposals to improve the grounds of the school, she then signed it at the top as approved before she placed it atop the previous list.

All that she had left to look over were the proposals for the new classes, the headmaster had placed them in alphabetic order it seemed. The first one she picked up was the animagus class proposal, she murmured the proposal aloud as she shifted in her seat. _"Class Name: Animagus Transformation Class_

_Proposed Professor: Sirius Black-Snape_

_Years to be taught: Sixth and Seventh_

_What to be taught per year:_

_Year Six: Theory for the transformation and finding the person's animal form_

_Year Seven: Partial transformation culmination in a full transformation_

_Attendance of Class: Class is a voluntary_

_Notes: To be held on weekends only."_

Anubis appeared out of no where and peeked over her shoulder before he said, "it seems like a good class to have. Your uncle is already technically doing that anyway and it just might cut down on how many illegal animagus' are running around," he murmured softly.

She hummed in agreement as she marked the parchment as approved before she placed it atop the ward improvements and moved on to the next one. Thanatos appeared beside Anubis, he read aloud from over her shoulder,

_"Class Name: Healing Class_

_Proposed Professor: Madam Poppy Pomfrey_

_Years to be taught: fourth through seventh_

_Things to be taught per year:_

_Year Four: Basic first aid_

_Year Five: Basic Medical Magic_

_Year Six: Intermediate Medical Magic_

_Year Seven: Advanced Medical Magic_

_Attendance: semi-mandatory: basic first aid must be attended and passed."_ He snorted before he commented snidely, "that would have come in very handy during your third year, hell it would have come in handy during your second!"

"Indeed it would have, my Dearest Crow," Kushina murmured as she marked the class as approved. She made only one notation to the parchment before she set it aside, she suggested that Isshin Kurosaki be co-Professor to Madam Pomfrey.

The next one she picked up was about the language class which the headmaster had marked Linguistics class, it seemed that Albus only knew which classes that himself and Minerva were going to teach. She tapped her quill against her lips before she smirked and wrote down her suggestions as to who he could ask to teach those particular classes. She then looked it over before she marked it as 'approved pending acceptance of the professors to the positions.' She then set it atop the proposal for the healing class before she picked up the next proposal, this one was about Physical or Practical defense.

As Albus hadn't included any proposed Professors she jotted down three ideas, she then leaned back into her chair as she murmured the proposal aloud,

_"Class Name: Physical or Practical Defense_

_Proposed Professors: Uryu Ishida, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and Tatsuki Arawasa_

_Years to be Taught: First through Seventh_

_Things to be taught per year:_

_Year One: Basics of Archery, Sword fighting/weapon use and hand to hand combat_

_Year Two: Same as Year One_

_Year Three: Intermediate hand to hand and basics of Archery and sword fighting/weapon use._

_Year Four: Same as Year Three_

_Year Five: Intermediate Archery, Sword fighting/Weapon use and hand to hand_

_Year Six: Advanced Hand to hand and intermediate Archery and Sword fighting/Weapon use_

_Year Seven: Advanced Archery, Sword fighting/Weapon use and Hand to hand combat_

_Attendance: Class is mandatory as part of Physical fitness."_ She quickly marked it as approved depending upon Proposed Professors accepting the positions offered.

The next suggestion by Albus was to combine a new class with an old one to create a merged class, he had suggested that Ancient Runes be combined with Warding, the new class like ancient runes would be optional. However, it would require that the students begin study at second year instead of third like Ancient Runes, Kushina added Bill Weasley's name as a secondary professor since as a curse breaker he had to know about ward building, she then stamped the proposal as approved.

The last class proposal was for a mandatory Wizarding Etiquette class, Kushina read it aloud to her Zanpakuto,

_"Class Name: Wizarding Etiquette Class_

_Proposed Professor: Andromeda Tonks nee Black,"_ after she read the Proposed Professors name she gleefully signed it as approved before she read the rest of the proposal.

_"Years to be taught: First through fourth_

_Things to be taught per year:_

_Year One: Basic Customs and Greetings_

_Year Two: Intermediate Customs and Greetings plus Basic Traditions_

_Year Three: Advanced Customs and Greetings plus Intermediate Traditions_

_Year Four: Advanced Traditions_

_Attendance: Class is mandatory for all muggleborn and raised students. It is an optional class for wizard born and raised."_ She then placed the last sheet of parchment atop the rest of the proposals.

Kushina then wrote a letter to the goblin in charge of the joint account of the founders, she gave the Headmaster conditional access to the vault. He had to submit a list of things he wanted to purchases then after the purchases were made he was to submit receipts for all of the transactions, she was also to receive a report concerning his activity with the vault at the end of each month.

Once she had finished writing the letter she sealed it with wax and embossed the wax with a seal that had a lions head and front paws with a cobra ready to strike coiled between the paws. The imprint was the combined seal of the Gryffindor and Slytherin families, she only used that particular seal when the matter she was addressing concerned the two separate houses. Such as allowing someone access to the Hogwart's Vault, Kushina stared down at the request for new wards in contemplation, she wondered if she could design seals to do these things.

Finally she sighed as she realized that it simply wouldn't be feasible for her to attempt it, it would be far easier to allow wizard wards to be erected instead. However that certainly wouldn't stop her from renewing the old Seal Wards, with that thought in mind she gathered up the parchment and headed toward the Headmasters office.


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Of Bonds and Wistful Sighs

**WARNING: some parts of this may be considered naughty. Please read at your own risk... Thank you...**

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen:** **Of Bonds and Wistful Sighs**

* * *

 

An hour after she approved the proposals that Albus had given her, Kushina was making her way down the tunnel that led to the Chamber of Secrets. She highly doubted that Voldemort ever discovered the true Chamber of Secrets, since he had never manipulated the wards of the Castle, then again she doubted that Voldemort even knew about seals. When she came to the collapsed area of the tunnel she frowned as she contemplated her choices for getting through the blocked area. Choice number one: leave it as it was and crawl through the opening, choice number two: widen the narrow opening that Ron managed to open up four years ago or choice number three: fix the collapsed tunnel.

Finally she sighed before she went through the hand seals to a very unusual jutsu that she and Sakumo had come across while on a mission to Tsuchi no Kuni during their early partnership. The jutsu had been written down on a scroll along with several others, the multiple scrolls had then been hidden inside of a large snake statue, which had been part of a crumbling temple hidden in a mountainside, by the time the pair had come across the temple most of the trail to it had been reclaimed by nature.

The partners had camped at the temple for five weeks waiting for the patrols of the enemy nin to die down before they attempted to leave the area, they had been given five months to complete the mission and had only used two of those months when the began hiding at the temple. During the time they were waiting Kushina had gotten bored and decided to explore the old crumbling temple, when she came across the snake statue it had been broken in half due to a rock slide and the inner chamber which held the scroll was exposed but the stone casing was still intact so the scrolls hadn't been damaged by the weather.

She decided to take the scrolls back to Sakumo since if nothing else going through them would give them something to do, she figured that the two of them could split the scrolls in half, her take so many and Sakumo get so many. One of the scrolls she kept for herself had the jutsu which she was currently using written on it, the jutsu melted rock or any other hard object into liquid then the jutsu would direct the liquid into whatever shape the user of the jutsu desired. In this particular case, Kushina wanted the tunnel returned back to it's just made condition thus she got the tunnel returned back to that condition.

After the jutsu was complete, she continued on until she reached the vault-like entrance to the faux Chamber of Secrets which contained the true Chamber of Secrets. As she walked up to the door she hissed, " _open,"_ the snakes slithered backwards which unlocked the door thus allowing it to swing open. She then walked past the multiple snake statues that framed the walkway to the large statue of an odd man, she had yet to figure out who he was since Salazar told her that there was no statue down there when he sealed the chamber shut with the Basilisk inside. As she walked down the snake lined walkway and had nearly reached the statue she hissed softly, _"lights."_

With that muttered hiss the eyes of the snake statues began to glow with a bright green light while the sconces on the wall became aflame with the same bluebell flames that Hermione used on Severus, and the Devils Snare during her first year as well as the Polyjuice potion in their second year. While at the center of the ceiling a large yellow-white ball of light appeared, when she reached the circular end of the walkway she headed to the right side of it and knelt at the edge. As she knelt at the edge she hissed over the water, _"drain,"_ she then heard a dull sounding thunk before all the water in the Chamber began to empty from it at a fast rate.

Within moments the area was completely drained, the area was at most twelve feet deep and was slightly slimy due to algae growth over the last several hundred years, but a couple of Scourgify charms took care of the slime. Kushina then dropped down into the moat, she then made her way over to the statue's area, under the statue was it's base but carved into the base was what appeared to be a doorway or corridor. Inside the area was a seal, Kushina took out a kunai and sliced a cut along her right palm, she then placed the palm against the seal and hissed, _"I, Kushina Ruri Potter-Lupin, Head of the Houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin, demand entrance to the Chamber of Seals."_

After several ominous moments of silence the seal glowed a bright green before it disappeared and with a hiss a doorway appeared where the seal had sat, Kushina cautiously entered the room, with Slytherin and Gryffindor being the ones to design the Chamber only heavens knew what they considered an appropriate defense. As soon as she stepped into the room the walls, ceiling and floor began to faintly glow a dull green, she gaped at the extensive seals that coated the glowing areas, she noted a few areas that were no longer glowing but where seals were clearly carved. The seals that were glowing were still doing their jobs but the ones that weren't glowing were no longer doing what they had been carved to do anymore.

She sighed softly to herself before she muttered aloud, "this is going to take a while to re-energize every seal in this room…" She pouted for a moment then whined, "I'm going to have to power all of these one at a time!" In her mind Anubis and Thanatos blinked in puzzlement at the way that their Mistress had been whining which had turned into incoherent grumbling as she walked over to the center of the room. She then dropped to her knees then sat back onto her haunches and closed her eyes to meditate, however instead of reaching for her inner world she reached for her chakra coils, she slowly coaxed her chakra to pool at her hands.

Once her palms were coated in her chakra and glowing red she placed them against the seal that she was kneeling on, she carefully began to feed her chakra to the seal. For five hours she fed her chakra into the seal, she knew that if she fed it too fast then she risked the seal overloading itself but if she fed it too slow then she risked the seal not keeping all of the chakra she was feeding it. Finally at two in the morning she stopped feeding the seal chakra, the seal was now glowing a bright crimson, which signaled that it had been fully charged. With any luck it would be at least five hundred years before it would need charging again.

She sighed as she stood up from where she had been kneeling and carefully stretched to work out the kinks that had formed from her staying in the same position for six hours straight. As she stretched her back a series of loud pops rung out along with a loud grumble from her abdomen which filled the chamber and she chuckled sheepishly to herself before she muttered, "I guess my stomach wants to be fed." She then squinted up a the large but less complicated looking seal on the ceiling for several moments before she said as she exited the room, "I'll take care of you later."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The next night she entered the Chamber of Seals again, she glanced around before she muttered, "I think I'll power up the seal on the ceiling tonight." With that said she walked up the wall and across the ceiling, she then knelt down in the same position as she had on the floor last night, she then repeated the process of the previous night. Three hours later she cut off the flow of chakra, the seal was glowing a brilliant red, after she assured herself that the ward seal was fully charged she cut off the flow of chakra holding her to the ceiling.

She landed in a crouch in the middle of the floor with a barely discernable thump, she then stood up and looked around, she counted at least four glowing seals on the walls, that alone making six seals. However that wasn't counting the seals that no longer had any power going through them, so far she had only renewed the seals concerning the Muggle repelling charm which was actually a very advanced sealed genjutsu. The other was a seal that concerned the upkeep of the castle, it's job was to repair damaged sections of the castle if it ever came under attack, if the ward had been at full strength then the secret tunnel would have never collapsed nor the tunnel leading to the Chamber of Secrets.

She closed her eyes to check her chakra levels in her coils, to her relief she still had over half her reserves left, more than enough to power one of the smaller seals that were on the walls. She stepped up to the wall and promptly closed her eyes before she trailed her hand along the wall, she was checking each individual seal to see which one would take the least amount of chakra to power back to full strength. In the end she decided that the chastity wards would be the ones that would take the least amount of energy to empower back to full power. The chastity seal would alert the nearest professor if a pair of student who weren't soul mates got just a little too close for the wards comfort level, making out was fine as well as some mild groping but any thing beyond that was definitely not allowed. The ward was also responsible for not allowing boys into the girls dorms, the wards didn't interfere with soul mates unless there was a drastic age difference in the pair, such as the pair having more that five years between them and one of the pair being a minor.

Two hours later she cut off the flow of chakra to the chastity ward seal, the seal was now glowing a brilliant crimson red, however she could tell that the rest of the seals would take a while to power since she would only be able to power a single seal per night due to classes.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The next day while her clone was teaching the Shinigami Arts Class, Kushina entered the chamber and looked around at the seals that were left to be powered back to full strength. She pondered which one to power up next, in the end she headed straight across from the entrance and after coating the palms of her hands with her chakra, placed them against the seal and began to power it. An hour later she was pulling her hands away from the brightly glowing seal, she narrowed her eyes at it as she tried to puzzle out why it took so little energy to power this seal.

She blinked a bit when she finally figured it out, this seal was the surveillance seal, it was the seal that kept the Portraits and the suits of armor active. It also kept a passive watch over the students and reported if any of the students were to gang up on a single student, however it only worked in conjunction with the chastity ward in this regard. She rubbed her palms together before she contemplated powering another shield tonight, she still had plenty of chakra and time so long as she finished powering the seal in five hours.

She glanced over the other seals on the walls and approached one of the completely drained seals, she pulled her chakra to her palms before she placed them against the seal and began to pump chakra into it. As she fed the chakra into the seal she almost felt it searching her out as if to find out who she was and if she belonged in the chamber to feed it energy. Within a few moments of it beginning it's probe she felt the seal retreat from her and it started to accept the chakra at a slightly faster rate, it almost seemed to be directing her where to pump the chakra to the places it needed it most. Within three hours of beginning she felt the seal disengage from her feeding and pushed the excess chakra it didn't need back into her, she slowly pulled her hands away and frowned at the seal thoughtfully. She hummed before she murmured, "I have to ask Godric how he designed the seal to have a semi-sentience and ask if he made any other seals that way…"

She left the Seal chamber shaking her head over the ingeniousness of her ancestor and wondered aloud to herself, "makes me wonder just how great the clan would have been if we hadn't have been mostly wiped out." She snorted in derision before she muttered, "or if the entire clan had bothered to learn how to craft seals instead of using seals already invented, morons, someone made the seals they used so why couldn't they have improved them." As the red haired witch muttered and grumbled to herself the door to the Seal chamber closed behind her, in the chamber five seals were now glowing a brilliant crimson, three more were glowing a faint sickly green while two more were completely black.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Again Kushina sent a clone to teach the Shinigami Art's Class, thankfully the ones being taught not only respected her but knew she tolerated no playing around in her classes. She had also sent Thanatos and Anubis to keep a close watch on things, although having them so many floors above her did drain her Reiatsu levels she knew that it didn't cause her that much drainage.

She walked across the floor of the Seal Chamber, while she was walking over to the wall, she approached one of the completely black seals, it was bracketed by a seal glowing a faint sickly green and the drained ward she had fed last night. She brushed her hand across the now crimson seal and to her surprise it felt as if it had brushed back against her, although this had caused her to glance at it warily she shrugged it off. She drew her chakra down her arms to her palms until they were pulsing a steady red with her heartbeat, she placed them against the seal. Much like the night before shortly after she placed her palms against the seal and pumped a bit of chakra into it, the seal seemed to awaken brushing up against her trying to figure out if she was meant to be there or not. Like the seal beside it the presence of the seal quickly retreated and began to direct her chakra to where the seal needed it the most.

Again three hours after she started feeding the seal her chakra it stopped gathering it to direct the chakra where it needed it and began to push the chakra back into her. She slowly pulled her palms away from the seal and watched as it pulsed a bright red, although she hated to give a seal emotions, it seemed to be pulsing happily as if it was glad that it was active again and could do it's job. She turned her attention to the seal beside the two bright red seals before she brushed her hand against it and said, "sorry, I can't power you tonight but I'll be glad to power you tomorrow." With that said she left the chamber and let the doorway seal itself behind her.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

This time when she entered the Chamber of Seals she made a beeline to the faintly pulsing sickly green seal, she knew from the memory of the brush of it last night that the seal was almost completely drained. She placed her chakra covered palms against it and carefully began to feed the chakra to it, this time the seal was already awake and moving the chakra to where it needed it the most. It hadn't even bothered to probe her since it had already done that the night before, it only took two hours to power this wards Seal since it was still slightly powered.

As she stepped backwards away from the now glowing seal she glanced around the room and noticed that only one of the seals was black, she checked her chakra levels and found that they were at an acceptable level to power just one more seal tonight. She walked over to the pitch black seal and after she coated the palms of her hands with her chakra she began to feed the seal with it. Again the seal probed her once it had awakened enough to be aware of the chakra being pumped into it, this seal much like the other two had quickly began to direct her chakra to where it needed it most. It disengaged from her chakra flow after three hours of her feeding it her chakra, it pushed the excess amount she had given it back into her and she slowly took the palms of her hands away from it.

She glanced around the chamber and noticed that there were only two seals left and after she brushed her hands along them she knew that she could power both up to full strength the next night. That is she could if they didn't take a lot of time to power, she walked out of the Chamber of Seals and let it close itself behind her leaving a chamber of bright red seals to pulse in the darkness.

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The next night after she had finished the last two seals she made her way to her rooms and collapsed on her bed. She groaned happily and muttered into her pillow, "I've never powered that many seals in a single week before," she sat up and furrowed her brow before she said thoughtfully, "actually that was only five days, two days short of a week. Still that was ten seals powered up back to full strength, hopefully if Voldy attacks that might just give us the edge we need…"

She dragged herself out of the bed and over to the bathroom to take a quick shower. Five minutes later she wandered out of the bathroom then got dressed for bed before she collapsed back onto the bed and burrowed under the covers. As she slipped into slumber she gave a happy purring sigh and fell deep into sleep.

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Standing amongst ice and snow a man wearing a pair of dark sunglasses sighed as he stared up at the stars, his breath was coming out as puffs of white. As he gazed up at the heavens he rubbed his chilled arms and murmured softly, "I miss you three so much…" As he had spoken he smiled wistfully before he muttered, "I can only hope that all of you are fine without me… I'd contact you to let you know how I am but orders are orders…and not even I can disobey a direct order…"

He then heard the sound of snow crunching under someone's boots, a few moments later a man came up over the hill and said, "hey, Rude. Get your ass back inside before you freeze it off," the man joked.

The sunglass wearing man blinked his dark eyes from behind the shield of the glasses before he glanced upward at the stars again then called out over his shoulder, "yeah, I hear you. I'll be inside in a minute," the man who had told him to get inside waved in acknowledgement before he turned around to go back down the hill.

'Rude' shook his head in wry amusement as he mentally wondered just why he had chosen such an odd choice of name for his undercover persona. He chuckled to himself darkly before he muttered aloud, "you would have no doubt found it extremely amusing, partner." As he walked back down the hill he heard a voice in his mind snark at him, 'Rude? What in the world possessed you to use that? Were you trying to make them think your mama hated ya or something, Yo?' He laughed breathlessly as he imagined his partner raising an eyebrow at him sardonically while asking him those questions. His partner would have smacked him on the head before collapsing due to laughter over his name choice.

* * *

Kushina was hunched over a large old tome about bonding ceremonies, she was attempting to find a bonding ritual to use in her own wedding as well as to add to her already completed History of Magic essay. The students plan to get Binns sacked had succeeded beyond their wildest dreams and Albus had hired Belinda to teach the class for at least the rest of the year. She had assigned them an essay concerning ancient rituals that aren't widely practiced anymore and how their use could be beneficial to the current times, Kushina had chosen Ancient Bonding Rituals as her subject.

She had finished her essay only a few minutes before she found an old book whose title was written in Latin the title translated to, 'Passion, Soul, and Eternity.' Near the end of the book she found two rituals, only one of the two rituals could be preformed hours before being consummated. However the book did recommend that it be preformed in private due to the intensity of the memory and power sharing between those being bonded together. She hummed to herself softly as she murmured mentally to herself, ' _I wonder if this bond is what the King meant by saying, "you will be the key to his memories." Well at least if all else fails, I'll just go ask him later…'_ With that thought in mind she copied down the ritual word for word before she closed the book and placed the tome back onto the shelf just the way she found it before she gathered up her materials and left the library.

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The next day Kushina went to the Room of Requirement, she summoned Thanatos then released him into his shikai form before she sliced upward with his blade to open a portal. However instead of a portal appearing, a set of white gates appeared in front of her, she returned Thanatos to the bracer before she summoned the combined shikai of her zanpakuto. She placed the blades into the pair of slots on the gates lock, she then pulled the two blades apart and the gates swung open easily, before she entered the gates she returned the swords back to the bracers.

The few patrols she came across were all lead by seated officers and all of them snapped salutes at her, she guessed that with Ichigo's request for retirement she had been promoted to Captain of the Kings Guard instead of just being the Lieutenant of the Guard. She made her way through the corridors until she reached the Throne room, when she entered the room she heard the King speaking in low tones to someone, when she looked over she saw the third seated officer who she supposed was now the Lieutenant of the Guard with her own promotion. The Lieutenant quickly bowed to the King before leaving the room hurriedly, the King turned to face Kushina, who had dropped to one knee then stood up. The King merely smiled down at her actions before he said, "hello, Kushina. What brings you by," he asked curiously.

She bit her lower lip before she reached into her back pocket and pulled out the roll of parchment that she had written the bonding ritual on the night before. She handed it over to the King as she said, "I found that ritual in an old tome on bonding rituals. I was just wondering if this is what you had in mind when you said that I held the key to my husbands memories…"

The King looked down at the scroll then at the Head of his Guard before he unrolled the scroll and read the ritual. After several moment he rolled the scroll back up and handed it back to Kushina he then said, "yes that ritual could work to trigger his memories." The Kings lips twitched upward in a sardonic smile before he quietly commented, "I was thinking more along the lines of a pensive but that ritual would work even better than that idea."

Kushina tucked the scroll back into her pocket as she did that she hummed in thought before she finally turned her attention back to the King. She gave him a low bow before she said in a respectful tone, "if you have no further need of me, then I shall take my leave, Your Majesty."

The King chuckled lightly before he said, "no, I don't really have a need of you. Unless of course you want to spar with some of the guards, the ones that were assigned after you left for your mission are starting to get a little arrogant…" He trailed off meaningfully as she smirked and raised a single red eyebrow at the King.

Her gold eyes gleamed maliciously before she dropped her voice to a predatory purr, "in other words, you want me to put them into their places…" When he merely nodded she laughed and said as she walked away, "sure, I don't mind beating the arrogance out of people along with any ideas they had about self-importance. After all, too much self-confidence can be a bad thing, since it can blind you to the real threats of the world."

The King laughed as he watched the red haired woman walk away, she had always been one of his favorites along with Hisana. The pair were extremely powerful but neither of them liked to boast about their strength, they let their Reiatsu and actions do the talking for them. ' _The more arrogant of my Guard are about to get a very rude awakening about real power,'_ he thought to himself as he laughed quietly to himself.

* * *

Three hours later fifteen men lay on the ground of a training area panting and groaning in pain while Kushina sighed in disappointment. She then pouted down at the groaning men before she said in a mock hurt tone, "that wasn't any fun at all. You all said that you'd make me eat my words about how all of your toughness was all talk and you also said that you'd wipe the floor with me." She tapped her lower lip in mock consideration before her face brightened and she said sweetly, "I guess that means that I was right about the lot of you being all talk and no action."

The fifteen men stared up at her in shock as she walked away from them but before she exited the training grounds she looked over her shoulder. As she did she commented snidely, "next time you challenge someone to a fight, you might want to check to see just who it is that you're challenging."

The men stared after her in confusion before the former third seated officer, who was now the lieutenant, smirked down at them and said, "she's right and you all should consider yourselves lucky. She could have used her Zanpakuto on you, Thanatos and Anubis take it as a personal insult whenever someone insinuates that she's weak." When they continued to stare up at her in confusion she laughed before she said while walking away from them, "she is the former lieutenant who was promoted to Captain when the old Captain retired from duty. In other words, gentlemen, you just got on the bad side of your boss…"

At that comment the fifteen unseated officers blanched in horror, they stared after her as she walked out of the grounds. It was clear to everyone who had watched the fifteen men get their egos shoved down their own throats that the only thought going through the minds of the fifteen men was, 'oh shit!'

All fifteen of the men had used their Zanpakuto during the fight while Kushina had forgone the use of her own Zanpakuto, much to the amusement of the Seated officers. Kushina had easily beat the men, of course what she had muttered after downing all of the men greatly puzzled all of the watchers, seated and unseated alike. She had muttered that Zaraki was harder to fight than the pathetic idiots that thought they could take her on, it wouldn't be for several weeks before they all would find out that she meant Captain Zaraki and not district Zaraki.

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Two pairs of blue eyes squinted open at a loud noise that penetrated their slumber, the owners of the eyes grumbled in protest when they felt the third person slip out of the bed. Gideon pulled a pillow over his head to block out the sound of the alarm, Fabian glared over at the cheerfully chirping alarm before he gleefully turned it off. He then looked up and realized that his other bed partner was now in the bathroom, from the sound of it he was in the shower.

The former Auror contemplated on joining him but decided against it, instead he plopped backward to rest against the pillows and stare at the ceiling. A few minutes later he heard the shower cut off, he then heard the sound of the sink's faucet running and assumed that he was now either shaving or brushing his teeth, quite possibly both. Gideon rolled over onto his right side and stared at the bathroom door, their bed partner had discovered that if he wanted to go about his morning routine unmolested then he had better close the bathroom door.

A minute after they heard the sink cut off, a white haired man with only a towel wrapped around his waist for modesty walked out of the bathroom. He looked over at the bed to see both red haired men staring at him salaciously and snorted before he said while he dropped the towel onto the floor, "get those looks off your faces. I have to go to work," as he had spoken he pulled on a pair of navy blue silk boxers up his legs. He winced slightly as he pulled them over the hand shaped bruises on his thighs and hips, Fabian grimaced in remorse when he saw the wince that flashed over the doctor's face.

Completely unconcerned about his unclothed state he climbed out of bed and walked over to the brown-eyed Quincy. Once he reached Ryuken he dropped to his knees, pulled down the boxers until they were around the doctor's knees and pressed several soft kisses along all of the bruises. As he kissed the bruises he murmured softly, "sorry about these, love…" To his surprise the white haired man only chuckled as he ran his fingers through Fabians shaggy red hair.

"Don't be, I don't mind a few bruises now and then, besides it's not as if the two of you are completely unmarked," he pointed out as he ran his hand over a bite mark on the junction of Fabian's neck and left shoulder. He then smirked as he ran his gaze over the still reclining Gideon, his eyes paused on the hand shaped bruise on his exposed left hip and the marks littered across both men's chest. He chuckled wickedly to himself as the mental thought that his twins would either have to keep their shirts on today or show everyone that they were most definitely off the market.

Ryuken reached down and pulled Fabian up from his crouched position where he had pulled the navy boxers back up after he had pressed kisses to all of the bruises on the doctors hips and thighs. Ryuken kissed the former Auror lightly on the mouth and ended the kiss by gently nipping the red haired mans lower lip. He then pushed Fabian back to the bed as he said, "go back to sleep, you don't have anywhere to be yet. Unlike me," he added thoughtfully, Fabian pouted but went back over to the bed and laid back down.

However, he watched as Ryuken put on his socks, then pulled up his slacks, he pulled up his zipper but didn't fasten the button yet, he shrugged into a white dress shirt, he fastened the cuffs before he buttoned up the shirt. He then tucked the shirt into his slacks before he fastened the button on the slacks then slid a belt through the loops and buckled it. He then put on his tie and secured it, he then walked over to the bed and kissed both of the men in the bed good bye. As he pulled away from Gideon he murmured, "I'll see the two of you when I get home from work, don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone."

With that said he picked up his briefcase then walked down the hall then into the kitchen where he picked up the bento that the twins had made for him the night before. After placing the bento box inside his briefcase, he walked to the entrance hall and put on his dress shoes before he exited the door and with a set of clicks locked it. A few minutes later, he unlocked and opened the door, he then reached in, grabbed his jacket before he closed and locked the door again.

* * *

Kushina made her way to the second floor and the entrance to the Headmaster's office, she had an idea that she wanted to discuss with Albus concerning a future Care of Magical Creatures class. She approached the gargoyle guardian to the entrance and halted in front of it, she smirked lightly before she said, "warheads," the statue leapt aside at the utterance of the password.

She went up the spiral staircase, once she reached the top she knocked on the solid wood door and entered the room after she heard the Headmaster call out, "come in." Albus looked up from a much smaller pile of paperwork then the last time she had visited him, he smiled in greeting before he said, "ah, Kushina. What brings you by my office," he asked curiously.

She smiled back cheerfully as she walked into the room and started to pet Fawkes along his back as he sang a greeting to her. She then looked at the Headmaster as she said, "I had an idea concerning a Care of Magical Creatures class."

Albus frowned in puzzlement before he asked in confusion, "shouldn't you be speaking to Hagrid about that, Kushina? He is the Professor of Care of Magical Creatures, after all," he added thoughtfully.

Kushina conceded his point with a slight tilt of her head before she said wryly, "normally I would. However, in this case, your permission would be required," she trailed off thoughtfully. Albus blinked at her in confusion before he finally gestured for her to elaborate, she sighed before she said, "I've checked with builder of the new Care of Magical Creatures area and they've told me that it should be finished by February. I then sent a letter to Charlie, Ron's older brother, I asked him how long it was between the mother dragon's laying her eggs to them hatching. He told me it varied according to species, for some it took only a month but for others it could take half a year, however currently the only dragon that will be laying soon is a Hebridean Black female, she's a first time mother so more than likely she'll abandon a few or all of the eggs."

She shook her head before she continued by saying, "Hebridean Black eggs take about three to four months to hatch. The hatchlings stay with their parents for almost an entire year after hatching in order to ensure that they will survive until adulthood." She tilted her head to the right before she said wryly, "that means if we begin the Dragon study project this year with the Hebridean Black, the hatchling won't be ready to leave until around the same time the next dragon study would be starting."

Albus leaned back into his chair, his brow furrowed in thought as he tried to puzzle out what it was that she was going on about, finally it dawned on him, she was asking if they could begin the dragon study this year with the Hebridean Blacks. "I had planned to start that class next year," he said wryly before he commented, "however, I see no reason as to why we cannot start it this year instead. I'll owl young Charles about procuring us one of the eggs that the young mother produces, I think it'll be quite educational if the students could see the dragon hatch. Did he perhaps mention when the egg would hatch to you, Kushina," Albus asked while he wrote the letter out.

She shrugged before she said, "near as I can figure it'll be hatching around the same time that the new Care of Magical Creatures area is finished." As she had spoken she ran her hand down the feathers along Fawkes head, neck and back, her lips were quirked in a smile that radiated pleased satisfaction.

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Jushiro stirred sleepily which elicited a sleepy grumble as well as a nuzzle into his chest by his bed partner, his dark brows furrowed as he opened his eyes sleepily. He then looked down to see a head of dark hair pillowed on his chest, he carded his fingers through the ebony locks which changed the unhappy grumble into a purring sigh. Blue-grey eyes fluttered open and stared at him sleepily from a heart shaped face, her lips curved upward into a drowsy smile as she caught him staring at her contentedly, "shower," she asked with a suggestive tone.

To her surprise he shook his head before he murmured while trailing kisses along her neck, "maybe later, I have a far better idea," as he spoke in between the kisses he flashed a wicked smile up at her. She opened her mouth to question him when he laid her on her back and started to trail kisses along her collarbone as well as nipping lightly in between the kisses. When he started to kiss further down her torso all that came out of her mouth were gasps and moans of pleasure, her eyes widened slightly in shock before they went hazy in pleasure.

"This is a much better idea than taking a shower," she murmured happily in a low throaty tone as her fingers gripped his long white hair.

A husky chuckle came from underneath the covers as he replied in a rough tone, "I thought you'd say that once I explained myself thoroughly to you…"

Much to his amusement, she tightened her grip in his hair before she growled roughly, "less talk, more action, Jushiro." With roughened chuckle he obliged her and went back to work.

* * *

Lily and Coyote were jolted awake when Lilynette jumped up onto the bed and bounced between them before she said crossly, "hey, sleepyheads, it's morning!" She glared down at the pair before she said, "so get up already!"

Coyote glared up at the green haired teen before he growled, "fine but go elsewhere, Brat." Lily had groaned before she burrowed back under the covers and further into Coyote's side.

Lilynette huffed but climbed off the bed and walked toward the door, she looked over her shoulder before she said, "okay, I'm going, I'm going. But if the two of you don't show up at breakfast in two hours I'm sending Kushina-Chan to wake you up."

Lily stared at the younger Arrancar before she gestured for the teenage looking girl to leave the room. Lilynette flounced out of the room, the pair lounging on the bed heard her exit the door to the quarters and head out into the hallway. Lily dropped her head back down onto Coyote's chest, she felt him run his fingers through her hair, a purr reminiscent of her animagus form slipped out of her throat as her eyes dropped to half-mast. After several moments she both felt and heard him sigh before he said, "we better get up before Lilynette makes good on her threat to have your niece wake us up…"

Lily pouted as she felt him pull away from her and roll out of the bed, she admired the way his muscles moved under the surface of his skin as he stretched lazily. Coyote looked over his shoulder at her, his eyes darkened at the sight of her sprawled lazily across his bed, he quickly turned around to face her and slowly walked backwards toward the bathroom. Once he reached the bathroom doorway he leaned against the frame of the door and said in a low rumbling tone, "I'm going to take a shower." He then looked her up and down before he all but purred as he asked her, "care to join me…" he trailed off in a velvet clad suggestion.

Her emerald eyes darkened to a forest green as her lips curved upward into a faintly predatory smile before she rolled out of the king sized bed and stalked toward the leering man. She placed her left hand, palm down, on his chest just over where his hollow hole would be if he wasn't in his gigai, she then slowly drew her hand down his chest. As she had draw her hand downwards she whispered huskily, "shall we take that shower, then," with that she flashed him a smile and darted around him. As she ducked into the bathroom she left him standing in the doorway gaping in shock at the way she had teased him.

A predatory grin crossed his face before he dashed into the bathroom after her, if anyone had been around to hear it they would have heard Lily shriek in surprise before soft moans and purrs of contentment rolled out of the open bathroom door.

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Kakashi stared at the Memorial Stone and traced the names of his teammates, Sensei and his Sensei's wife, who had often acted as a sounding board for jutsus as well as acting like his mother. He reached out to trace the four names which were in separate places on the rock save for his sensei's name and his wife's, unknown to the silver haired Jounin a large cheetah had padded up behind him. Kakashi jumped in shock when she spoke up from just behind him, "I think if they could see you now, that they would be very much inclined to hit you, Little Scarecrow."

Kakashi turned around and stared at the large cat in shock, he then murmured, "and just why would they be inclined to do that, Sakinari?"

She padded forward on silent paws and gazed at Kushina's name etched into the stone for several moments before she said, "because Obito would have wanted you to live your life to the fullest measure, not sulk about alone. Rin would have been much of the same mind as Obito and as a Medic nin she would have questioned your fitness to be an active Shinobi." At that statement Kakashi squawked a protest, Sakinari glared at him before she said, "your Sensei would have slapped you upside the head for staring at the stone for hours when you could be training."

She then huffed before she muttered, "of course, Mistress Kushina would have simply dragged you to the Forest of Death and started to put you through your paces if she saw you moping around like you are."

Kakashi winced but nodded in agreement with that statement, Kushina would have dragged him by his ear if need be before she kicked his ass all across a training ground. He smiled fondly in remembrance, he remembered Obito's loud mouth and outrageous lies, he remembered Rin's steady hands, calm demeanor even in battle and her compassion. He remembered Minato-Sensei's steady prescence, dry wit and unconquerable will, he remembered Kushina-San's love of pranks, her tendency to taunt the enemy as well as her absolute devotion to protecting Konoha and all that she loved.

He reached down and stroked a hand along Sakinari's head, then down her back ending the stroke by gently pulling at her tail. She purred at the gentle petting she was receiving from her Mistresses Scarecrow, she then butted her head against his hip before she said sternly, "cease your moping, Little Scarecrow. Or the cheetah's will find the wolves and tell them that you've been neglecting your health to mourn those long since lost to death."

Kakashi blanched before he said while he gestured wildly, "no need! I'll be good from now on!"

She purred gently before she stretched and murmured as she padded away from him, "good boy, Little Scarecrow, however we will be watching…"

He sighed in relief before he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and muttered aloud, "I guess I have been neglecting my training if she could sneak up on me. That reminds me, I need to check up on Naru-Chan, I haven't been able to see him since I went on that mission." He scowled slightly in frustration as he said under his breath while walking away from the stone, "if he hadn't have needed me that badly for that mission I would have told the Hokage to stuff his offer where the sun can't shine!"

Watching from the shadows Sakinari snickered as she wondered aloud, "I can only imagine what Sakumo-San's reaction would be to finding out how much his partner rubbed off on his son…" She snorted lightly before she muttered wryly, "he'd probably laugh before he would begin to tease her about her corrupting his son."

* * *

To Kakashi's surprise he found Naruto training in one of the older and thus less often used training grounds. He blinked in shock at the young blonds training companions, he recognized them from the many times that Kushina had summoned them to fight alongside her in battle. Takai was instructing the boy on the finer points of setting up an ambush while his older brother Susumu and the only female fighter, Yuzuki gave a demonstration of a classic ambush with Hiroto, one of the larger males, as the target of the ambush.

Unknown to Kakashi and Naruto, the cheetah's had been aware of the Jounin as soon as he came upon them, they had chosen not to say anything about him. Instead they decided to continue the lessons that they had planned for the day, Kakashi had made himself comfortable in the uppermost branches of one of the trees surrounding the training ground. He watched as the cheetahs carefully instructed his Sensei's and their former Mistresses only son in how to assess the terrain and any tactical advantages it might give him while he was in the field, they both explained a scenario to him and if they could, demonstrated it.

* * *

"Hey, Rude," a heavily dressed man called out to a man standing along a cliff face while staring at the sun setting.

"Yeah," the sunglass wearing man drawled out lazily, when he went undercover he had decided to use bits and pieces of his partner's personality in his undercover persona.

"Don't spend all night out here, we got the morning shift for the next week, you know," the man chided him.

'Rude' nodded before he murmured loud enough for the other man to hear him, "yeah, I hear you. I'll be in soon, I just want to watch the sun set."

The other man shook his head before he waved and remarked as he walked down the hill, "okay then, I'm going inside where it's warm, I don't know how you can stand it, it's freezing out here!"

As he watched the sun slowly sink below the horizon he murmured thoughtfully, "I can only hope my clone hasn't died or I'm going to have a hell of a time explaining just how I'm alive…" A few minutes after he trailed off he asked himself, "and just why did the Hokage order me to have absolutely no contact with any Konoha Shinobi while I'm undercover…" he shook his head before he muttered, "not to mention having those three be the ones to brief me on the mission…"

After several moments of pondering he nodded firmly to himself and said with grim determination, "if I don't hear or see anything worth spying on in the next two years… I'm heading back to Konoha, orders be damned, I've been here for more than ten years and haven't heard or seen a peep about anything pertaining to Konoha. Enough is enough, two more years is all I'm giving it before I go back to give the Hokage a piece of my mind about having a Jounin on a mission like this!"

* * *

**P.S. personally I don't think that the above scenes were all that naughty but I'd thought I'd warn you anyway. ^_\**


	18. Chapter Seventeen: The Dark Lord's Folly

**Chapter Seventeen:** **The Dark Lords Folly**

* * *

 

Rodolphus apparated to a small alley near the Leaky Cauldron, he had asked Lily in a letter if she could get him a suitable disguise for the day. She had replied by sending him a flask of Polyjuice potion and a vial that contained a lock of hair. She had included a sheet of parchment that read:

_Dear Dolph,_

_I'm glad to hear that you and your brother are well, the lock of hair are from a friend of my niece, she assured me that the man whose identity you will borrow has not yet entered Diagon Alley. She's warned his friends and co-workers that one of my remaining spies will be using it sometime soon, so if they see you they won't try to engage you in conversational small talk._

_The mans name is Shunsui Kyoraku, he's currently dating a young man by the name of Sado Yasutora, who is known by the name of Chad to his close friends. Make sure to buy a drink or two from the Leaky Cauldron, actually better yet buy a few bottles of Firewhiskey from there, Shunsui likes drinking, apparently he has to drink a lot to get drunk so most of his drinking is purely recreational._

_Stay Safe,_

_Your Friend Always_

_Lily Evans-Potter_

He had snorted at the letter but took the flask and vial, she must have figured that him using the identity of a man who likes drinking for a cover would be a good way to hide the fact that he was consuming Polyjuice potion. After he took a swig of the potion and felt as it caused his appearance to change he headed for the Leaky Cauldron, he had placed the flask into his inner robe pocket before he set off. Rodolphus nodded a greeting to Tom, the bartender of the pub, afterward he made his way to the back entrance to the Alley. He then headed toward the bank and made his way to an open teller where upon he said quietly, "I need to speak to Sharptooth about my account."

The teller blinked but nodded sharply before he snapped his fingers to summon a lower ranked employee to take his place at the counter. The teller then lead him down a hallway to a door, the teller rapped sharply on the door which was on the left side of the hall, both heard a voice call out, "come in."

The teller gave the other goblin a low bow before he said in a respectful tone of voice, "this man wishes to speak to you about his account, Sir."

Sharptooth opened her mouth to tell the teller that she didn't know this man and that more than likely she wasn't his accountant when the Polyjuice potion began to wear off. Sharptooth promptly closed her mouth before she waved the teller out of the room she then said wryly, "hello Rodolphus Lestrange. What is it about your account that needs to be discussed?"

Rodolphus grinned at the accountant as he leaned back into the chair opposite of the goblin before he said, "I need you to block Bellatrix's access to the family vault. I have decided to file for divorce as she has violated one of the clauses of our marriage contract. Thus I need you to file the divorce request with the Head of the Black Family, I also need to retrieve an object from my family vault and I would like to make sure that my soon-to-be-ex wife doesn't find out about it's withdrawal."

Sharptooth narrowed her gaze at the reclining man before she smirked at his mention of divorcing Bellatrix, she had never liked that banshee of a woman at all. As she began to write the request for the severance of his and Bellatrix's marriage she asked, "which clause did she violate? Depending upon which clause it was is whether or not you have to repay her dowry back to her family."

"She has failed to provide an heir for my family despite her having ample time to do so before our imprisonment in Azkaban. I'm not getting any younger and as my brother is unmarried there is n heir to the Lestrange name at all," Rodolphus explained quietly.

Sharptooth nodded before she stood up and said, "I'll escort you to your vault, Lord Lestrange."

She then lead him down to the carts and took him down to the Lestrange Family Vault, whereupon he got a sack of Galleons, Sickles and Knuts along with the Hufflepuff Cup. He had taken Lily's advice to wrap the cup in silk, then he placed the fabric wrapped cup into a sack before he placed the sack into the right pocket of his robes.

After that he exited the vault and took the cart back to the surface, shortly before the cart reached upper levels he took a dose of the Polyjuice potion. He then left the bank to do some shopping since he had the feeling that after tomorrow Rabastan and himself wouldn't be venturing out to the Alley's anytime soon.

Rodolphus contemplated where to head to first, as he attempted to figure out just what he needed to buy and what could be ordered via an owl he bought a raspberry and chocolate ice cream with sprinkles and chopped nuts. ' _Robes, book and potion ingredients can be bought via owl order… so that leaves me to buy quills, parchment, ink, owl treats, and a few cauldrons. Not to mention those bottles of Firewhiskey that Lily told me to buy.'_ Rodolphus thought to himself as he ate the ice cream while he wandered up and down the alley.

By the time the older Lestrange brother had finished eating his ice cream cone he had stopped right by the cauldron shop. He went inside and purchased several cauldrons of various sizes and types, although Rabastan would mostly be the one using them not him. After that he headed to the stationary shop and bought enough ink, parchment and quills to last at least half a year, that is if they spent everyday writing at least two feet worth of letters.

Rodolphus paused briefly outside of Madam Malkin's and considered going inside to buy Muggle-type clothes but decided against it since he doubted that Voldemort would even consider that the two brothers would shop in the muggle world even if they'd been spying on him for years. He smirked to himself before he turned away from the store and walked back to the Leaky Cauldron, he walked up to the bar and ordered three bottles of Firewhiskey and a six pack of Butterbeer. After he paid for the alcohol he shrunk his purchases and placed it in one of the pockets of his robes, he then nodded goodbye to Tom and left the pub.

He made his way back into the deserted alley he had apparated into earlier, just as he reached it and had slipped inside of it the Polyjuice potion wore off. After he double checked his pockets to ensure he still had everything he apparated back to the deserted moor. Rabastan was leaning against one of the few trees growing there, when he saw his older brother he asked quietly, "well, how did it go?"

Rodolphus grinned at him before he said equally as quietly, "without a hitch! Sharptooth is drafting my request for severance of my marriage to Bellatrix and has assured me that she'll no longer have access to the Vault."

Rabastan sighed in relief before he quietly said in a serious tone, "I guess that means that we better be careful tomorrow. Right?"

Rodolphus nodded gravely before he muttered as they walked back, "yeah, I just hope we survive it. If we do survive lets blame the rashness and utter recklessness of our plan on Lily, okay?"

Rabastan laughed before he said in amused agreement, "sure, why not, she's a bad influence on us after all."

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The next night both Rabastan and Rodolphus were glad for their masks when Voldemort had summoned a meeting since they might have betrayed their plan otherwise. Due to their positions in the outer inner circle they knew that they could get close enough to kill his familiar, the trick would be to do it without giving away that she was their intended target.

Nervously the brothers took their places in the circle of Death Eaters, they had for the past several weeks been dropping vague hints that they were spies. They had been very careful to only slip up slightly, hopefully the dark lord would call them out on those slip ups. If, or rather when, he did call them out, the pair planned to kill the large venomous snake then promptly flee the scene, they both knew that if they bothered to stick around afterwards that Voldemort would torture them then kill them as examples.

All the Death Eaters shifted warily as Voldemort hadn't been calling them often during the school year, to have him summon them at this time was rather ominous. The red eyes of the self proclaimed Dark Lord glanced over his followers, Nagini was prowling amongst his followers, he had ordered her not to go near the two that were thought to be spies. She had muttered hisses and complained but so far had obeyed his order to leave them alone unless they fled the circle.

Finally the Dark Lord said with a hissing undertone to his voice, "I have received disturbing reports over the last several weeks…" That statement had caused many of them to glance at one another nervously before the dark lord continued, "those reports say that two among my dear followers have become spies for that muggle-loving fool Dumbledore."

At that mutterings had broken out among the gathered Death Eaters, most didn't notice that the Lestrange brothers weren't muttering at all but were instead slipping their wands out of their holsters and unsheathing daggers. Voldemort watched dispassionately as his followers shifted nervously and mutter amongst themselves before he said in a falsely gentle tone, "I'm willing to give these two a chance to explain away their behavior."

As the dark lord trailed off Rabastan had glanced over at his elder brother and received a nod which gave him the go ahead, Nagini had just slithered into view in the only area that the brothers could flee the circle through. At his brothers signal Rabastan had stood up swiftly and snarled in a viciously disgusted tone, "we agreed to spy for him because you're nothing more than a no-good, hypocritical, delusional, Half-Blood son of a Squib and we refuse to grovel at your feet any longer!"

Voldemort and the other Death Eaters were staring at the Lestrange brothers in a moment of stunned shock, they were stunned at not only the words that the younger Lestrange brother had spat out but also by the fact that his elder brother clearly agreed with him. The brothers took advantage of the moments that the group was stunned into stillness in order to flee the circle, they raced through the openings of the ranks heading straight for Nagini as they did so. As they ran a few of the Death Eaters reacted by casting hexes and curses at them which the brothers gladly returned, Voldemort then bellowed, "don't fire at them, let Nagini handle them!" Nagini had orders from him to attack the brothers if they fled the circle and he was confident that she could handle the pair easily enough and if they did manage to flee they would die soon afterwards due to her venom.

However, those orders were precisely what the Lestrange brothers had counted on, as Nagini reared up and opened her mouth to strike at them. Rabastan threw a dagger right at her open mouth, the dagger sunk hilt-deep into the top portion of the venomous snakes skull, the tip of the blade glinted at the top of her head. Rodolphus activated the only portkey the brothers had just before the dagger reached the serpent, Voldemort screamed in rage as he watched as his familiar was killed and the spies flee via portkey. He had stationed Nagini just outside the anti-portkey wards so the brothers hadn't been prevented from leaving after they had killed the serpent.

* * *

Rabastan had stumbled when the pair landed at the Portkey's drop area, Rodolphus tugged at his baby brothers arm, he didn't know if the Dark Lord could trace the portkey or not but he wasn't taking any chances. After he cast a glamour over them both Rodolphus gently pulled his brother out of the alley and hailed a cab after which he told the driver to go to Magnolia Road. He had the driver stop at the park, he then paid the driver before he slung Rabastan's left arm across his shoulders and wrapped his right arm around the younger mans waist.

They walked down the street until they saw a two story house that was painted a pale cream with a light blue trim, the yard had a wrought iron fence surrounding it. The brothers opened the gate and walked up the cobblestone walkway, the two injured men noted the pair of statues that flanked the door before Rodolphus pulled out his wand and murmured, "Alohomora." The door unlocked in a series of clicks, Rodolphus then put away his wand before he twisted the wolf-head shaped doorknob and opened the door.

After he helped his brother inside he closed the door behind him and locked it, he then turned around and looked at the entryway, he blinked at the site of the tiled entry, the tile was a green and white checkered pattern. On the left side of the entryway was a low cabinet made of light cherry wood, hung just above the cabinet was a mirror framed with a wood frame of dark oak. Rabastan clutched at his ribs as he limped into the dining room, as he entered he noted a large square table made of dark cherry and it was surrounded by twenty chairs made of light oak. Both brothers walked into the kitchen and Rodolphus noticed a statue of a grinning jackal made of obsidian sitting on the top of the island.

Rabastan gestured to the small statue and said wryly, "this must be the portkey that Lily said she'd leave us." Rodolphus nodded as he once again supported his swaying brother before he reached out with his left hand and picked up the statue. Both men felt the familiar tug of a portkey and the kitchen swiftly disappeared from around them.

* * *

Karin watched in amusement as Yuzu blinked brown eyes innocently up at a burly fourth year Ravenclaw who had just told her that the sorting hat had to have miss-sorted her since she was too innocent and trusting to be a snake. She inwardly snickered at the insinuation that her younger twin was anything other than a snake, obviously this boy wasn't aware that things were not often as they appeared to be. Anyone who had met their elder brother would assume after they heard about his adventures that he was a Gryffindor through and through. However, when he had been sorted on a previous visit the had had commented, "I stand by my decision. You are still a Slytherin, Ichigo Kurosaki just as you were when you went by the name of Regulus Black."

Any of the kids that went to school with the twins from before Hogwarts would have unanimously have agreed that Karin would have been sorted into either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. While if asked to guess Yuzu's house they would have picked Slytherin as their only choice and Hufflepuff would have been no where near any of their guesses. What most of the people here who met Yuzu didn't realize was that beneath her kind and generous exterior lurked a cunning yet ruthless personality. Thankfully, that part of her personality seemed to concentrate on making sure that the ones that she loved were happy and well taken care of, something which Byakuya was startled to find out. The first time that the noble had met the blond haired girl he had received a lecture on the properly for and look after their big brother after which she had cheerfully told him, "you will spend the rest of your life making him happy or face mine and Karin's wrath."

What had caused Karin the most amusement as she remembered that first meeting was the fact that Yuzu had had calmly lectured him in front of the entire Kuchiki clan council. Karin was shaken out of her memories when she heard her younger sister comment happily, "you're welcome to your opinion. However, the hat said that my ambition outweighed all of my other traits!" With that said she turned around and walked over to Karin who smirked at the way the older boy was gaping in shock after her sister.

Unconsciously, she slung her right arm over Yuzu's shoulders before she grinned while she commented, "how about we go for a walk…" Yuzu blinked a bit before she smiled up at her sister and allowed the dark haired girl to lead her outside toward the lake.

As they walked down to the lake Yuzu hesitantly asked, "Karin," the dark haired girl hummed to acknowledge that she heard her so Yuzu continued, "do you think dad will ever stop playing the fool? I mean when mom was alive he acted like a goof but he was serious and people didn't think he was an absolute moron with a medical license…" She had trailed off sadly as they reached the shores of the lake and Karin sighed before she shrugged in a vague answer.

Karin reached down to pick up a smooth flat stone, she threw it at the lakes surface and watched it skip four times before it sunk beneath the surface of the water. She repeated the exercise five more times with varied results before she said, "I don't know, mom liked it when Dad acted like a fool…" She paused for a moment in contemplation before she muttered, "I think Dad acts like a fool in remembrance to Mom, he might be doing it so he will remember the good times they had together…" Karin smirked before she said slyly to her sister, "besides if our dreams are any indication he'll stop acting so much like a fool before we're thirteen."

Yuzu sighed but nodded as she murmured, "true enough, if we're lucky it'll be much sooner that that."

Karin chuckled quietly before she ran the fingers of her right hand through the blond strands of her twins hair. As she combed her fingers through the shoulder length hair she murmured, "we could only be so lucky…" Karin looked up frowning slightly as she did so, she then gestured for her twin to stay quiet, at Yuzu's curious look she whispered in her ear, "I thought I heard something."

Yuzu cocked her head to the right and listened intently, as she listened she heard the faint crunches of footsteps of someone trading on leaves and snow. The two girls glanced at each other warily before they hid behind a tree and scanned the area from which the footsteps seemed to be coming from. They saw a pair of men approaching the school, one appeared to be limping while the other was supporting the other as he limped. Yuzu blinked before she nudged her sister and said quietly, "we should help. They're hurt and they seem familiar to me somehow…" As she spoke she grabbed her sisters right hand and tugged her along behind her as she made her way over to the injured men.

* * *

A few minutes before Karin and Yuzu noticed the two men walking towards the school Kushina frowned slightly before she muttered to herself, "huh, guess I better go find Aunt Lily. Someone just activated the jackal statue portkey in the kitchen…"with that the red haired witch set down her quill, she then got up from her desk and made her way downstairs. She originally planned to eat dinner in her rooms but it seemed she would be eating in the Great Hall after all. Before she sat down at the Gryffindor table she paused by the founders portraits and after greeting the other three founders she hissed, " _Lord Slytherin, could you tell my Aunt that her brothers might be arriving soon?"_

Salazar blinked a bit at the odd phrasing that his descendant had used in her request but he nodded and hissed back to her, _"of course I can, My Sweetling."_ With that he pressed a quick kiss upon his husbands lips before he murmured, "I'll be right back, my Gentle Lion."

As Kushina sat down by Hermione she glanced up and noticed that Salazar was speaking to her Aunt, shortly after he finished talking Lily looked Kushina straight in the eye before she nodded to signal her understanding of the cryptic message. Lily then sat back down at the Staff table, Kushina noted that she placed her wand beside her plate instead of in the holster on her forearm. Hermione looked between the two red haired women before she nudged Kushina and asked, "what's with the odd glances?"

Kushina sighed before she nibbled on a chicken leg, she commented after she finished a small portion of it, "that portkey that Aunt Lily had me place in the kitchen of Jackal's Lair just activated a little while ago. That means that they're on their way to Hogwarts, I just had Salazar warn her to expect trouble from the older students and the Professors not in the know about her spies." Hermione hummed before she turned her attention back to her meal but Kushina noticed that she casually withdrew her wand from it's holder and placed it next to her cup of pumpkin juice as well as her occasional glance toward the doors.

Ron picked up on the way both of his best friends had their wands out but since their glances toward the doors were more worried than wary he figured that they expected to have to defend someone, not attack. He casually picked up his cup and took a drink while he simultaneously caught Kushina's gaze, he signaled to her, 'whatever it is that you're expecting, I'll back you up.'

She nodded to acknowledge before she signed back, 'we're waiting for two wolves to return to the pack. Their alpha is worried about their health and safety here.' Lily had revealed that the Lestrange brothers were both wolf animagus' that was a fact that Lily and the brothers had guarded viciously incase the pair ever needed to flee in those particular forms. Thus Ron knew Kushina was referring to the Lestrange brothers when she spoke of wolves returning to the pack, he signaled his understanding and his readiness to help.

* * *

Rodolphus blinked at the area that appeared in front of them, it was halfway between Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, it was just outside of the portkey wards of Hogwarts. He then placed the jackal statue into his left hand pocket of his robes, Rabastan noticed that his brother winced as he moved his left hand and asked, "did you hurt your wrist, Dolph?"

Rodolphus held his wrist up at the eyelevel before he muttered as he gathered his brother tighter to himself, "yeah, I think one of our former comrades got a lucky shot it." He then sighed before he urged Rabastan to move forward going toward Hogwarts, Rabastan moved with him reluctantly as he winced from the pain shooting up his legs from both his ankle and thigh.

As they neared the school they saw a pair of first years near the lake, Rabastan laughed quietly before he said, "I wonder who they are," he tilted his head at the pair as he spoke.

Rodolphus huffed a laugh as he continued to urge his brother to Hogwarts, he knew that both of them needed a healer. Their injuries weren't life threatening but the injuries were causing the pair pain, his left wrist was starting to hurt more now that his adrenaline rush was starting wear off. As they got closer to the school the brothers were startled when they heard a young voice say, "you're hurt! Let us help," the brothers looked at where the voice came from and saw a blond haired girl wearing a tie with Slytherin colors on it. The black haired girl next to her was wearing a tie sporting Gryffindor colors, the Slytherin turned to her companion and said, "Karin help me."

The brothers blinked in shock before Rabastan asked hesitantly, "don't you know who we are," he glanced at his brother after he asked.

Karin stared at them blandly before she said as she ducked under Rodolphus' left arm, "yes, you're Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange. However, our father is a healer and we've helped him in his clinic too often to turn wounded people away." As she said that Yuzu had gotten on the other side of Rabastan, the twin then helped the wounded sibling into the Entrance Hall then into the Great Hall.

As the four entered the Great Hall some of the older students gasped in shock and horror at the seeing a pair of first years with two escaped convicts. Some shot curses at the pair but much to the shock of most of the students both Kushina and Lily cast shield charms in front of the four. Kushina then used shunpo to stand protectively in front of them, most of the students that shot the curses and hexes at the four blanched at the angry disappointed look on her face. She then said quietly, "did you even think about how your curses could have it Yuzu or Karin. No of course you didn't, that would have required too much thought on your part," she sneered at the now bashful and shamed at their behavior students.

She then turned away from them and faced the twins before she asked softly, "are you two alright?"

Yuzu nodded before she smiled up at her cousin and said perkily, "yes, we're fine, Shina-Chan. Thank you for asking though!"

Kushina sighed in relief before she smiled down at Yuzu, she then placed her hands on the young blonds shoulders and said in a commanding tone, "do me a favor, go get your Dad and Madam Pomfrey to patch these two up. Aunt Lily and I have a few questions to ask them while we're waiting for you to get back here. Okay Karin," she glanced questioningly at the dark haired girl who nodded before she slipped out from under Rodolphus' arm. The twin reluctantly left the Great Hall, both looking over their shoulders at the wounded men, after they had left Kushina smiled gently at the wary spies.

"It's okay, Uncle Isshin and Madam Pomfrey will be here soon to heal you," her words shocked the pair out of their daze that came over them when she had called Lily her Aunt. Kushina's lips twitched in amusement at the still slightly dazed looks on their faces, she had figured that they had finally realized that she was James and Remus' daughter. To the brothers surprise her golden eyes held an understanding sparkle in them and she called out over her shoulder, "Aunt Lily, I do believe that these gentlemen wish to speak with you."

The students watched in stunned amazement when Lily walked down from the staff table and helped Kushina move the injured men to the Gryffindor table before helping them sit down. Rabastan smiled up at Lily as he held his rib before he said softly, "hey, Lily, how have you been," as he spoke the students surrounding them goggled at the pair oddly.

Lily grinned back down at him before she murmured softly, "I've been good actually. However, I see that you and 'Dolph had some fun today," she flashed a chiding grin at Rodolphus as she watched her niece checking Rabastan's ribs.

Kushina stood up from where she'd been kneeling before she placed her hand on Rabastan's right shoulder, "your ribs are bruised not cracked or broken. Which is a good thing considering how far the two of you walked, if they had been broken you could have punctured one of your lungs and collapsed it."

Rabastan huffed but nodded before he said softly, "well they hurt all the same to me."

Shortly after that comment Karin, Yuzu, and Isshin walked into the Great Hall, Kushina looked up at them with a smile before she said, "hello Uncle Isshin. Sorry to drag you away from the infirmary but these two need healing. Rabastan seems to have some bruised ribs, his right ankle appears to be sprained but I can't tell why his left leg hurts."

Lily interjected at that with the comment of, "and Rodolphus has hurt his left wrist somehow, it's not sprained but I can't tell what's wrong with it. Other than the shallow cuts he has all over his torso and shoulders he's fine."

The Lestrange brothers looked up when Kushina had greeted someone, they saw the two young girl who had helped them inside the school standing on either side of a tall man with black hair and dark brown eyes. They were surprised at how the doctor was smiling at the same time that his eyes were shadowed by a great deal of pain and sadness. The pair glanced at each other and silently agreed to get to know this man to find out just why his dark chocolate eyes were filled with such sadness and pain.

After Isshin cast a few spells, he murmured quietly, "well the reason your left leg hurts is because your tibia has a hairline fracture. That's simple enough to heal," he held up a jar of bruise balm. "This should fix up those ribs of yours and right ankle," he then helped him remove his robe and shirt, he then gently rubbed the salve over the bruised skin stretched over Rabastan's ribs. Isshin had tsked upon seeing just how thin the younger Lestrange brother was and said, "you need to gain at least twenty pounds."

Rabastan huffed a soft laugh before he commented wryly, "you should have seen me four months ago, I was almost a walking talking skeleton," Isshin stared at him with a displeased frown on his face at the quip while Rodolphus smacked him upside the head due to the insensitive comment. Rabastan pouted at him while Isshin removed his right boot to rub the bruise balm into his ankle, to the surprise of the watching students who had never witnessed bruise balm at work the bruises on Rabastan's torso quickly vanished from sight. Isshin then handed Rabastan a potion vial for him to drink, which he did before he muttered in a disgusted tone of voice, "yuck, I hate the taste of bone mender."

As Isshin began to prod his wounds Rodolphus muttered back to his brother, "if you dislike the taste so much why don't you stop breaking your bones so often, then you wouldn't have to drink it."

After several minutes of prodding Isshin declared, "well you have a cracked wrist, some bone mender will heal that right up while some wound sealer should fix those cuts of yours." He matched actions to words by handing the older brother two vials of potion, Rodolphus tossed them back in quick succession and unlike his baby brother didn't complain about the disgusting taste.

After his wounds were healed Rodolphus smiled at Lily before he reached into the right hand pocket of his robes and pulled out a gold cup with a badger on it. From the wall where the founders portraits were located everyone heard as Helga exclaimed in shock, "that's my cup!"

Lily reached out and took the cup from him, she was careful to make sure that the silk was between her hand and the metal of the cup the whole time. As she held the cup up she raised a single red eyebrow at Rodolphus in askance over just why he had handed the Cup of Helga Hufflepuff over to her. Rodolphus laughed softly at the look on her face before he explained, "that is what Voldy Shorts gave Bellatrix to guard all those years ago, I had no clue that it was Lady Hufflepuffs Cup. I don't know why you wanted it but you can have it, and Rabastan has some good news for you as well…"

Lily then turned to the grey eyed man who was putting back on his shirt and robe, he looked up at her before he smirked as he said, "Moldy Voldy is down one poisonous familiar." Lily grinned at him as she handed the Cup over to Kushina who was wearing gloves she hefted it into the air then caught it again.

To the surprise of the students, staff and the Lestrange brothers she walked over to the founders portraits and stopped in front of Helga's painting, she smiled up at the founder sadly before she said, "I'm sorry about this Helga but it needs to be destroyed."

The noblewoman sighed wistfully before she said equally as sadly while she stared at the cup with sadness in her eyes, "it's alright Kushina. I understand, it's too dangerous to be allowed to exist and if that means my cup is destroyed then it will simply have to be destroyed. Perhaps the goblins will be able to mend any damage done to the cup later, obviously they won't be able to recast the spells upon it but at least it would be whole once more…" The normally gentle nature woman then snarled in anger before she turned flashing eyes to Kushina and said angrily, "make sure that the beast who did this pays dearly for his trespass of my heirloom."

Kushina nodded before she said, "of course, Lady Helga, would thee like to see me destroy what is corrupting your priceless artifact?" Helga nodded sharply in answer to her question thus Kushina placed the cup on the floor before she placed her hand against the crook of her elbow and cried out as she drew it down to her wrist, "Raise your army in my defense. KNEEL ANUBIS!" A vortex of air and sand appeared around her left hand, the Khopesh appeared shortly after the vortex died off, she then flipped the sword until it was point down. She locked eyes with Helga as she thrust the sword downward until it had completely pierced the cup from the top to the bottom. The resulting shrieking scream startled everyone in the Hall except Kushina didn't even flinch, she just heaved a sigh of relief before she said, "six down…none to go." She looked up at Kisuke who smiled down at her, he knew that she was one step closer to achieving her mission for the King, all she had to do was wait for Voldemort to show up so she can take care of him.

Albus cleared his throat before he said, "Lily, can I safely assume that the Lestrange brothers were the last of your spies amongst the Death Eaters?" When Lily nodded in response to his query he smiled before he turned to the now healed men and said, "I believe it would be best if you remained on the grounds of the school until the situation with Voldemort is resolved."

Both brothers nodded in acquiesce to the Headmasters request before they followed Lily down to her rooms in the dungeons. Kushina picked up the mutilated cup and shook her head over having to destroy yet another artifact of the four founders, that made three total that she had to destroy due to his soul pieces. As she walked back to her own rooms in Gryffindor Tower she muttered to herself, "lets see, Hufflepuffs Cup, Ravenclaws Diadem, and Slytherin's Locket. All he needed was Gryffindor's Sword and he would have had the whole set, too bad for him it was in the one place he could never reach it…"

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The next day Rabastan poked his head into the infirmary, Isshin was inventorying the potions in order to find out which ones needed to be restocked and which ones were running low, he would be giving a list to Lily and Severus to brew more of. Upon seeing the dark haired man alone Rabastan perked up before he entered the room, Isshin looked up and flashed a smile at the grey eyed man. He then asked, "what brings you by here," Isshin looked at the other man in curiosity before he sternly asked, "not another injury I hope."

Rabastan smiled before he shook his head in response and said, "no, I don't have any injuries. It's just that Lily told me that you're a Muggle Healer and I was wondering if you would be willing to tell me about some of the methods used in Muggle Medicine…" Isshin blinked at the pleading expression on the former spy's face, the pleading expression evolved into a pout and puppy dog eyes.

Isshin chuckled at the look before he said, "you do that expression better than either of my daughters. Alright I'll tell you about some of the techniques," at that Rabastan whooped. However he quieted when Isshin held up a finger, Isshin stared at the now silent man in front of him before he said, "however, you must help me with the potion inventory before I do." Rabastan pouted but started to help the former captain sort through the potions on the shelf.

* * *

While Rabastan searched out and found Isshin, his older brother peeked into the library, it was just after dinner, his face lit up at spotting Karin and Yuzu, who were studying in a corner of the room near one of the windows. As he entered the room he nodded a greeting to Madam Pince before he made his way over to the twins, he and his brother had been surprised to find out that they were twins, mostly since they didn't look anything alike. Karin looked up as he approached the table, she nodded a hello at him while Yuzu gave him a bright and cheery smile before she said happily, "hello Rodolphus-San!"

He smiled down at her gently before he said quietly, "hello, Karin-Chan, Yuzu-Chan. How is your studying going," he asked as he sat down at the square table.

The two girls shrugged before Karin said as she finished her essay for History of Magic, "it's going okay. At least history of Magic isn't so boring anymore since Belinda-Sensei took over teaching the class." Yuzu nodded in agreement with her sisters words before she turned her attention back to finishing her essay.

Rodolphus laughed softly before he said just as softly as his laugh, "yeah, Binns was a right bore… What did Belinda have you do your essay on," he asked curiously.

Karin had stretched her arms over her head and cracked her spine before she said with a small yawn, "she had all of the first years research Muggle Politics during the founders era. She had muttered something about making the students realize that there is more to history than Goblin Rebellions."

Rodolphus snorted before he muttered to himself, "I see…" He then snorted again before he tilted his head to the right before he asked hesitantly, "why does your father act like such a goofball?" After he asked that he looked down at the tabletop to avoid looking either girl in the eye.

Karin glanced at Yuzu before she asked in a forced casual tone, "what do you mean by act? He is a total goofball," she then gathered the roll of parchment that held her essay for History of Magic.

Rodolphus looked up at her before he commented skeptically, "if he really is a goofball he'd have never been able to become a healer. That takes dedication along with years of study and practice, not to mention that his eyes say otherwise." He reached out and tilted Yuzu's face up by placing his index finger under her chin, as he looked her in the eye he asked, "why is he so sad?"

The girls glanced at each other before Karin nodded and gestured for Yuzu to explain the circumstances to the blue-grey eyed man. Yuzu sighed before looking back at Rodolphus and said, "when our brother, Ichigo, was nine our mom was killed by a hollow by the name of the Grand Fisher. Mom had been protecting Ichigo who couldn't tell spirits from living people at the time, the Grand Fisher preferred female victims so although Ichigo had the higher amount of Reiatsu he took mom instead. Before Mom died Dad would only act like a goofball to make her laugh, after she died he stopped being serious except in certain circumstances. I don't know if he's acting this way in reminiscence of Mom or if he's doing it to protect himself from pain. All I know is that Dad is rarely serious anymore unless Ichigo has or is going to put himself into danger or if he's talking to Mom's grave."

Rodolphus blinked in shock before he murmured, "how much older than you is your brother?"

Karin sighed before she said quietly, "Ichigo is seventeen, we were three when Mom died. The only real way that we know how Dad used to act is home videos that were shot by Kisuke, Kushina's Fiancé. He would act like a goof to make our Mom laugh but he was serious most of the time, every year we make a journey to Mom's grave to tell her about what we've been up to for the past year. We know that Mom can't hear us but talking to her grave makes us feel a bit better, I guess it's since we only go to her grave on the anniversary of her death…"

Yuzu looked at the thoughtful man for a few minutes before she quietly commented, "cousin Siri said that you requested a divorce from your wife."

Rodolphus nodded as he murmured, "yes, I did. Our marriage was arranged and there was no love in it, if Bellatrix loves anyone, it's the dark lord." Blue-grey eyes flashed in vague amusement before he quipped lightly, "and I won't even have to repay her dowry back since it was her that broke the marriage contract."

Yuzu giggled at the triumphant look on his face, when Sirius had told them about Rodolphus' divorce request he had also told them about how Bellatrix acted along with the official reason for the divorce. He had figured that sooner or later one of the brothers would mention the divorce and Sirius didn't want the twins to think that the two men they had rescued were so cold and callous when it came to Bellatrix. Rodolphus raised an eyebrow at the giggling girl before he reached out and ruffled her short blond hair, he then asked, "how would the two of you like me to show you some of my many shortcuts?"

The twins perked up before they gathered their study supplies and Karin said, "sure, Kushina showed us a few but she said that a more extensive tour would have to wait until the Yule holidays."

Rodolphus laughed as he rose from his seat, he then commented as he led the girls out of the library, "well, I may not now the school as well as her Dad does… However, I do know my way around the place, " as they walked out the doors Karin grabbed his right hand while Yuzu clutched at his left arm, after a few moments he put his arm across their shoulders instead.

* * *

"What's that smirk for, Aunt Lily," Kushina asked inquired curiously as she approached the smirking potions mistress.

Lily glanced over at her fellow red haired witch before she said, "I never knew that Rabastan had such a fascination about Muggle medicine before." she pointed at the Hospital wing where when Kushina glanced in she could see Rabastan listening to Isshin lecturing him. Kushina blinked before she sharpened her hearing by shifting only her inner ears into her animagus form.

"…instead of wound sealer Muggles stitch together wounds with a special type of thread. Internal wounds are sewn with a thread that eventually dissolves, skin on the other hand is sewn with thread that later has to be removed by a professional. If you had gone to a Muggle hospital with your broken tibia, they would have placed your leg into a plaster cast and left it in the cast for around eight weeks for healing." Kushina smirked as she listened to her Uncle lecturing the former spy on Muggle Healing methods, she watched as he continued his lecture but she had changed her inner ears back to their more normal shape.

After several moments of watching Kushina tapped Lily on the shoulder and said, "I've got to get going. I need to go over a few plays with the team before my class tonight." Lily nodded goodbye to her niece before she turned back to watch the pair in the infirmary some more. Kushina shook her head over the way her Aunt was spying on the two men before she walked down the hall away from the scene.

A few minutes later she entered the Gryffindor Quidditch Locker-room, she found her team already inside. Ron was going over his broomstick to make sure that the tail of his broom was strait and there were no broken twigs while Ginny was polishing her broom. Dennis and Collin were going over old plays to keep them fresh in their minds while Dean and Seamus were making sarcastic comments about how effective or not effective they had been while the two younger boys were doing that. Kushina cleared her throat before she commented while she walked over to the chalkboards at the front of the room, "I'm glad to see that you are all using the time for this wisely." Both Weasley's finished their self appointed tasks before they turned all of their attention on Kushina, the other four boys quieted and put away the old plays.

She snorted before she turned to the boards behind her and began drawing the plays she thought would work in their upcoming match. As she scrawled across the board she said, "of course, we will also improvise if needed on the pitch. These are only for the chance that we'll need them," she looked over her shoulder at her attentive team, Ron nodded in agreement to some of the plans she had made.

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Three hours later Kushina had been making her way into Konoha, as she entered the village she shook her head over how the defensives were still slacking. As she hopped up to her sons kitchen window, as she perched on the sill of the window she paused to ponder over playing a prank or giving an idea to Naruto to have fun with. She looked at the open window with a raised eyebrow wondering what in the world it was doing open seeing as it was December not May or June, she slipped inside the small apartment and closed the window behind her.

When she walked into the living room she found her son sound asleep on his couch with an open scroll on sealing techniques lying open on his chest. She smiled down at the sleeping blond as she murmured, "you don't know how much you look like your father right now. All you need are some ear tails and slightly longer hair," as she spoke she brushed his bangs back from his face, he stirred slightly but didn't wake up so she rolled the scroll up and placed it on the coffee table. She then gently scooped him up, as she cradled him against her chest, he reached up and gripped the upper edge of her chest armor, she smiled softly down at him before she carried him into his bedroom, she wrote him a note to let him know that she dropped by to check on him after she had tucked him into bed.

After she left Naruto's apartment she decided to stop by ANBU Headquarters to leave a message on the Head of the Torture and Interrogation Divisions desk about the sloppy security of the village. As she snuck inside, that is if you can call walking in the front door sneaking, as far as the secretary was concerned she belonged, after all she wasn't attempting to get past her. Kushina merely nodded to her before she entered the secret entrance which sealed the assumptions of the secretary about her belonging there, thankfully she didn't encounter anyone that knew the identity of the person who held the dragon mask and she was able to enter the Heads office without incident. As she wrote the letter she smirked with amusement that her little Ibiki-Kun was the Head of the Torture and Interrogation Division of Konoha.

_Dear 'Biki-Chan,_

_You might want to do a surprise infiltration of the village to test it's defenses. After all, if I was an enemy I could have done a great deal of damage to the village by now. Tell 'Nochi and 'Kaku that I hope they are well, much as I hope that you are well._

_Don't work too hard._

_Sincerely_

_An Old Friend_

_P.S. you also might want to tell your secretary that just because someone knows their way around doesn't mean that they belong there._

After she placed the letter on the desk she left the office and when she passed by a ANBU that was clearly a rookie she commented, "nice sword, Otter-San. A nodachi I believe, right?"

The Otter masked ninja paused in shock before he nodded and said respectfully, "yes it is, Dragon-San."

Kushina held out her right hand before she quarried softly, "may I," while she gestured to the sword. He blinked but unsheathed the sword and handed it over to her, she swung it a few times before she checked the balance of the blade. After she finished testing the blade she handed it back to him as she said, "it has good balance, if you keep it in good condition it'll serve you for the rest of your life." With that she walked away from the stunned man, who stared after her back and made a mental note to himself to ask just who held the Dragon mask and if it was her habit to randomly test peoples weapons for balance.

Unknown to him as she walked away from him a slow, smug smile crossed her lips, with any luck he would mention her presence where Ibiki could hear about it. As soon as Ibiki heard about a woman with crimson hair wearing a Dragon mask was walking around Headquarters coupled with the letter that she left would get her old apprentice thinking as well as keeping on his toes. She had no clue how he would explain how a dead woman could waltz into ANBU Headquarters but she had no doubt that if he did bother to explain it that his explanation would be very entertaining.

As she entered her rooms at Hogwarts she cracked her neck and muttered to herself, "note to self: drag Kenpachi to the King's palace in Heaven and have him help me whip those idiots back into shape." As she said that she unbuckled her clawed gloves before she slid them off she placed them into the wooden chest that lay open on her bed, she then unbuckled her shin guards and chest armor, she then placed them into the chest as well. After she took off her mask she carefully placed the porcelain object on top of all her other gear before she closed and sealed the chest, she then slid the chest under her bed before she started to walk to her bathroom while she stripped her clothes off on her way.

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Ibiki walked into Headquarters and after he greeted the secretary on duty, he entered the back via his usual entrance and made his way to his office. After he disabled the traps that guarded the office, he then entered the room, however, after stepping inside he froze. He could tell that there was something different about his office then how he had left it the day before, after he looked around he couldn't find anything missing from anywhere in the office without moving from his position near the door. So he approached his desk carefully, he then noticed a slip of paper that wasn't there yesterday, his hands flew through several jutsus to make sure that the paper was safe to pick up before he summoned a shadow clone to read it. After the clone finished reading the letter he dispelled it by throwing a kunai at it and waited for the memory dump to hit him after it had hit him, he gave the letter on his desk an odd look.

He then sat down at his desk and stared down at the note before he muttered to himself, "someone broke into ANBU Headquarters to leave a note about how we should check on the villages security…" He shook his head in disbelief before he said with a look of fond exasperation on his face, "that sounds like something that, Ryuu-Sensei would have done simply for fun…"

As he read the post script he wondered what that particular comment had meant, he also wondered how this person had known his, Inochi's and Shikaku's nicknames that their sensei had gifted them. To Kushina they had always been 'Biki, 'Kaku and 'Nochi, the three had only allowed one another or their sensei to call them by those names and other than those people no one else knew the names nor used them.

He then put the note away before he started on his paperwork, he made a mental note to question the secretary from last night about the post script note, as well as a note about a test of security of the village. After all if someone could get into the village then into ANBU Headquarters then it really needed to be tested again. Once he was finished with the pile of paperwork on his desk he gathered it so he could take it down to the archival room to file it, as he passed the break room he overheard as Otter, a new ANBU asked another higher ranked ANBU, "do any of you know who wears the Dragon mask?"

Ibiki froze in shock, there was only one person in all the history of the ANBU to have held a Dragon mask and she'd been dead for eleven years now. Ibiki snagged a woman wearing a Meer Kat mask, "take these to the archival room, I'll be down there later to file them," he commanded quietly. After she had nodded and left he entered the break room, where he was able to see everyone shaking their heads in response to Otter's odd question. As they were about to tell Otter that no one held that mask Ibiki asked quietly, "can you describe the person who wore the mask?"

Otter turned to him in surprise at the question but nodded as he replied, "of course Sir. She was about so tall," he gestured just to his eye level. He then shrugged before he said, "I think she had crimson red hair, I couldn't tell what color her eyes were though. When I had passed her in the hall, she had commented that I had a nice sword, she also asked if it was a Nodachi, when I said that it was she asked if she could see it." The young man shrugged again before he commented wryly, "I saw no reason not to let her so I handed it over. She swung it a few times before she checked the balance of it."

After he said that he paused for a moment then he said softly, "she said that if I took good care of it, then it would serve me well for the rest of my life. I thought that the comment was a bit odd so I decided to ask around about her," he then looked at Ibiki in confusion. "Why did you want to know Sir," he questioned as he stared at his superior in confusion. All around them the other ANBU also stared at their Head in puzzlement while Inochi and Shikaku entered the rooms and raised their eyebrows at the odd looks that their old teammate was receiving from his subordinates.

Ibiki reached into his inner coat pocket and pulled out an old worn picture, he held it up to the group in front of him as he asked, "is this her?" The group looked at the picture, it was of a man and woman, the man was wearing a wolf or dog mask while the woman was wearing a dragon mask. Otter nodded in answer to Ibiki's question, Ibiki then flipped the picture over so that it was facing him, as he stared down at it he murmured, "if she was indeed the woman you saw… Then I'm afraid that you saw a ghost last night, Otter-San."

At that Otter and the others goggled at him in shock while Inochi asked, "what do you mean by that, Ibiki?"

Ibiki snorted before he said as he handed over the letter he found on his desk along with the old photo over to the two men, "because according to him the woman in that photo was who he encountered last night. She was wearing a dragon mask and she told him that if he kept his weapon in good condition that it would serve him well for the rest of his life. I found that letter on my desk last night, none of my traps had been set off, read it and you tell me if he didn't meet a ghost," Ibiki challenged his old teammates.

Inochi frowned as he stared at the photo of their ANBU sensei and her old partner before he handed it over to Shikaku before he read the letter. He laughed before he handed the letter over to Shikaku and said in amusement, "read it and you tell me that it doesn't sound like something she'd write."

Shikaku snorted as he read the letter before he commented wryly, "it certainly does sound like her. However," he looked at Ibiki and Inochi, "Ryuu-San has been dead for eleven years and two months now." He held up the letter as he said, "unless Ibiki's off the wall comment is right and a ghost wrote this… There is no way that it could have been her last night.: During the three men's conversation the other ANBU had goggled at them, when Shikaku had said that the person in the photo had been dead for eleven years Otter almost fainted.

Ibiki took both the photo and letter from the pair before he said, "I need to go talk to the secretary that was on duty last night so I can ask about the odd post script that our mystery guest left on her letter. I also need to make a plan on how to test the village's defenses without it seeming like we're testing them," with that said he exited the room.

Otter looked at Inochi and Shikaku for a few tense moments before he asked them hesitantly, "so what were their names?" The pair glanced at him in puzzlement so he clarified, "the two people in that photo." The rest of the ANBU who had seen the photo quieted so that they could hear the answer.

Inochi sighed before he reached into one of his pockets on his flak jacket and pulled out two photographs, when he held up the first they recognized it as the same picture that Ibiki had shown them. The second one was of a red haired woman who was wearing a Chuunin vest and a silver haired man who wasn't Kakashi Hatake since he wasn't wearing a mask. Inochi said quietly, "the man's name was Sakumo Hatake, Kakashi's father, he was also known as the White Fang of Konoha as well as Wolf of the ANBU. The woman beside him was his ANBU partner and his junior partner on regular missions, her name was Kushina Uzumaki, also known as Konoha's Crimson Blade and the Red Dragon of the ANBU. After Sakumo's death she refused to take another partner, the most that she deigned to do was to take three apprentices to train to be a single ANBU unit, until her temporary retirement and subsequent death the four were always sent out together." He huffed lightly before he said just as softly, "on of her students became the Head of the ANBU soon after her death."

Shikaku looked at the stunned people before he clarified, "her three students were myself, Inochi and Ibiki." He then rubbed the back of his neck and quietly commented, "there were things in that letter that only four people knew about. I didn't write that letter, neither did Inochi, Ibiki certainly didn't write it, however, unless a ghost wrote it then it could have only been one of the three of us." Shikaku stared at the group sternly before he commanded quietly, "this is not to be told to anyone, if it was indeed Kushina then she found a way to reach beyond the grave to tell us about something. If it wasn't her then I don't want anyone thinking that it was her, so keep your mouths shut about this, got it?" At that command everyone nodded rapidly and after they had done that the two men left the break room and the rest of the group went back to the discussions they had been having before Otter had asked his odd question. Otter decided to follow the woman's advice since if she was Kushina then she had taught the Head of the ANBU and everyone knew how good he was at his job.


	19. Chapter Eighteen: Winter Laughter and Delights

 

 

**Chapter Eighteen:** **Winter Laughter and Delights**

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As Kushina led Kenpachi through the halls he asked, "are you sure it's alright that I spar with them? I mean it doesn't sound like they'll be any fun to fight, after all, you didn't even have to use your swords to beat them last time." He frowned unhappily as he pointed out what he thought to be a glaring problem for him.

Kushina snorted as they passed a patrol group who rapidly saluted the pair before she said in a placating tone, "don't worry, Kenpachi. We'll have a demonstrative match of what a real spar is after you've pummeled the lot of them, they've gotten too used to being the best. Before Ichigo and I were given our respective missions everyone was constantly drilled, however since there was no one here over third seat rank they must have decided that they didn't need to do the drills." She sneered at the idea of becoming complacent while Kenpachi looked disgusted at the thought of anyone not keeping in practice and ready to battle at a moments notice.

As the pair approached the training grounds she saw her lieutenant, Kirio Hikifune, the former captain of her Fiancé's division, she nodded at the pair in greeting. Kushina paused in front of her and asked in a quiet voice, "is everyone here?" After the lieutenant nodded in confirmation Kushina smirked and purred out, "good. Lieutenant, this is Kenpachi Zaraki, he is the captain of the Eleventh division of the Seireitei, I believe he was appointed to the position after your acceptance of the third seat of the Kings Guard." Both nodded a courteous greeting to one another before they followed the smug red headed captain into the training grounds.

Kirio went over to stand by the rest of the seated officers while most of the unseated officers shifted nervously, after all the last time their Captain had appeared she had taken down fifteen of them without using her Zanpakuto even once. Well make that all but two of them, a black haired teenage looking man and a brown haired girl of about the same age weren't shifting nervously at all. The woman elbowed the man in the ribs after he made a quiet joke, he had whispered in her ear, "well she certainly hasn't changed a single iota, makes me wonder about Sensei."

"Be quiet, do you want us to get into trouble with her, she can be ruthless you know," the brown haired woman hissed at her companion, a couple of the other unseated officers gulped after overhearing their conversation. They all wondered who the tall and scarred man next to her was as he stood a whole foot taller than her, she didn't seem to be the slightest bit perturbed by his prescence looming over her.

Kushina cleared her throat and waited for the vague mutterings among the unseated officers died down, she then said, "my name is Kushina Ruri Potter-Lupin, formerly known as Kushina Uzumaki and I am your Captain. I am currently on a sensitive mission for the King and I may or may not retire from my position after the mission is over. That will depend on how well I can juggle my duties in the living world with my duties as your Captain, if I retire I will select my replacement from either the Seireitei or from among the Seated officers of the Guard."

She then gestured at the man beside her as she said casually, "this is Kenpachi, he is the captain of the Eleventh division of the Seireitei. You will all be sparing with him today, if you cannot last for at least twenty minutes with him you will be required to train for three hours a day everyday of the week." At that announcement the unranked officers gaped at her in shock, their eyes widened even further when she said, "and the people training you will come from the Eleventh divisions seated officers. All of them can last in a spar with Kenpachi for over forty minutes, so I highly suggest that you last the minimum of twenty," with that said she slapped the large man on the shoulder and said, "have fun, Kenpachi!"

Kenpachi stared at them before he sighed and said in a bored tone, "I'll take the unseated officers on twenty at a time and the seated officers one at a time." He then looked over at Kushina who was perched on the wall surrounding the training ground, she was holding a paintball gun, something she had introduced the Eleventh division to when they proclaimed they were bored, now they regularly had paintball wars within the division. He looked up at her curiously before he asked in a deadpan tone, "what the hell are you going to do with that?"

Kushina smirked down at her sparring partner as she loaded the gun's chamber with twenty different colored balls, the ball chamber was designed to hold the balls in such a way that it advanced exactly how it was loaded. As she held up the loaded gun she said perkily, "when one of the twenty men fall I plan to mark them with this. Then after all of them have fallen or twenty minutes have passed, whichever comes first, I'll mark down who got hit with what color. As they drop and I mark them, he'll," she gestured at Anubis, who was seated beside her, he was holding a clipboard and a pen, "mark down the time that I fire the paint pellet at them." She then gestured for Kenpachi to get on with the spar as she brought the gun up to her line of sight.

The brown haired woman whispered in her partners ear, "lets make sure to be in separate groups, okay?" He nodded and the pair watched as their fellow unseated officers quickly fell under Kenpachi's rather bored swipes, the first round ended quickly at only ten minutes when the last man fell.

Kenpachi waited for Kushina to reload the chamber with new pellets and mark down who got hit with which color, after she was finished he called down the next batch, the black haired man jumped down. He was the last one standing and lasted the full twenty minutes, Kushina had smirked at him before she fired the last paint pellet at him and called out, "sorry but I couldn't resist it!"

The black haired man laughed in delight, his black eyes glinting with laughter up at her before he called out teasingly, "sure you couldn't, Kushina-Taicho!" With that he jumped up to sit on her left side and she ruffled his hair before she turned her attention back to the fights, Kenpachi tore through the unseated officers. Finally it was the brown haired woman and the others turn, this time it was herself and three others that lasted the full twenty minutes.

Kushina handed the clipboard back to Anubis before she dropped down to stand by her sparring partner and gestured for the other four to get up on the wall beside the black haired man. The brown haired girl quickly seated herself by her companion and nudged him in the side with a smirk, the pair knew that look very well they had seen it whenever their teammate did something foolish while training. Kushina stared at the seventy five other unseated officers in disappointment before she said in an angry tone, "five. Five out of eighty! And you call yourselves officers of the Kings Guard! All of you except the five who lasted the full twenty minutes will spend no less than five hours everyday training with a different seated officers of the Eleventh division. Which so happens to include Kenpachi's lieutenant and she is one of the few who can stand near him when he's unleashed the full strength of his spiritual pressure!"

Kenpachi then looked down at his watch, Hermione's mother had given it to him as a birthday present, he sighed before he said, "change of plans. All seated officers will fight me four at a time, Kushina promised me a spar if I behaved and didn't break any of you." He stared at the before he said quietly, "besides I have a date tonight with a pretty brown eyed girl in about four hours and my spar with Kushina will take about two hours so lets get this over with."

After an hour and forty minutes later Kushina again jumped down from her position on the wall of the training grounds to land silently at Kenpachi's side. She was smiling as she said, "I'm glad to see that the seated officers took their training seriously while I was gone." She nodded approvingly at the panting officers, however they had lasted the full twenty minutes with Kenpachi so she said, "have a seat on the wall everyone. I'm going to show you what it's like to spar with him without him holding himself back so he doesn't hurt you too badly."

Kushina cracked her neck as she contemplated the man facing her from across the training grounds, after a few moments of staring she asked, "since you're already warmed up… Do you want to head strait to shikai?"

He snorted softly then he cracked his own neck before he said, "that wasn't a proper warm up, so lets spar for a bit before we hit shikai."

She shrugged before she chirped as she sketched a bow to him, "as you wish Kenpachi Zaraki." At that several of her subordinates realized that the Zaraki she'd mentioned the last time was Kenpachi and not the district of Zaraki like they had thought. Kushina sent a pulse of Reiatsu to her bracers as she said, "to my side, Thanatos! Arise from sand and wind, Anubis!" A rush of wind and sand surrounded her left hand while her right was covered by shadows, when the sand, wind and shadows disappeared a pair of swords rested in her hands. She then swung the swords lightly before she held one beside her hip and the other up at shoulder height, she then stared at him before she said, "unless you've forgotten… It's your turn to lead our little dance, Kenpachi," he snorted before he lunged toward her.

Kushina dodged by pirouetting to the left and sliced her right blade against him, he dodged by using a back hand spring. The pair then faced each other and when he lunged at her this time she met him, she blocked his sword with her left before she attempted to slice upwards with her right. He saw her moving the sword upwards and slammed his knee into her abdomen, the blow had enough power behind it to cause her to fly back six feet as well as knock the air out of her lungs.

He didn't wait for her to catch her breath before he lunged at her again, this time when she parried his attack she spun to the right and slammed her left leg into his lower back. The blow caused him to impact the wall ten feet away from where they had locked swords, Kushina smirked to herself as she flipped her right sword to where the tip of the blade pointed to her elbow. She then lunged at him and kept up a series of quick forceful strikes at his torso and upper legs, she was moving so quickly that he didn't have time to block any of her strikes, he could only dodge them.

The fifteen men that Kushina had spared with the last time gulped and thanked the King that she didn't use her swords against them. After all if this was the way she treated her usual sparring partner then she must have gone easy on them since they had only been winded and bruised not sliced and diced. Unknown to anyone except Kushina, Kenpachi, the black haired man and the brown haired girl, Kushina was pulling her strikes, if she'd used more force then what she was currently using she could easily kill the larger Captain. Finally the crimson haired woman stepped back to ask, "are you warmed up enough to go shikai or do you need a little longer?"

Kenpachi snorted as he shrugged off his Haori and upper garments before he said, "I'm warmed up if you are." Kenpachi then placed the tip of his sword against the ground and drew a circle as he said, "quench your thirst, Sekhmet!" With a low rumbling growl, the wrap around the hilt became a blood red while the nicks and cuts in the blade vanished leaving the blade as flawless as the day it was forged. Kenpachi then canted his head toward her and growled out, "its your turn now."

She snorted before she murmured as she tossed the sword in her right hand into the air, "fold thy wings and sheath thy blade, Thanatos!" To the surprise of the watchers the sword vanished and a crow appeared on her left bracer, she then tossed her left hand sword in the air. As it fell she called out, "return from the winds and sands from whence you came, Anubis!" This time they were less surprised when the sword disappeared from sight, those that were observant took note of the Jackal that appeared on her right bracer.

Kushina then placed her palms together interlocking her fingers together as she did so, she then slid her feet apart until they were shoulder width apart and said, "as they sown so let us reap. Bow to me and submit, my Dark Ones!" Everyone's view of her was blocked by a shroud of dust and darkness, when she reappeared those who had never seen her combined Shikai gasped in shock when they laid eyes on her. Her, or rather Thanatos', black wings were flared our and the chains that connected the scythes were draped loosely around her, she was resting the handles against her shoulders as she stared at him with a smirk on her face.

Kenpachi grinned at her before he lunged at her again, she dodged and as she did she slashed out at him with one of her scythes. He snarled as he leapt out of the way of her strike before he got behind her via Shunpo, she blocked his downward strike by crossing the blades of her weapons. After she blocked the blow she spun around and slashed at his stomach leaving a thin red line going up from his right hip toward his left pectoral. She then did a backhand spring to get out of the way of his retaliatory strike, those watching gaped at the viciousness of the pairs strikes at each other. The only ones not surprised were the brown haired woman and the black haired man, instead they were watching in bemusement at how much their captain was enjoying the fight.

Kushina used a burst of shunpo to get some distance between them before she threw both blades at him, she had thrown them so fast he didn't have time to dodge them and received two gashes on his shoulders. However he ignored the bleeding wounds in favor of charging at the already moving woman, she had tugged both chains to get her blades back to her and had jumped to the right. Although she avoided having his strike impale her shoulder she hadn't been able to avoid the follow up slash to her left hip. Everyone was startled when they heard a series of beeps ring out and she looked down at her wrist after she saw what time it was she cursed so vehemently that the vocabulary used would have made a hardened sailor blush bright magenta red.

With a flash of darkness and sand her weapon disappeared from view, she then raced past Kenpachi, as she went past him she grabbed his left wrist while she said, "if we don't book it we'll be late!" He swore before he sheathed his sword and began to run alongside her as she raced through the gates of Heaven which deposited them back to where they had left from. As the pair raced out of the training grounds the pair on the wall laughed before the black haired man commented, "she hasn't changed a bit. Then again if she had she wouldn't be Kushina-Chan," the brown haired girl nodded in agreement before she leapt of the wall and led the black haired man away.

As they dropped onto the grounds they used shunpo to reach Hogwarts, Kenpachi headed to his quarters while Kushina raced to hers and after she tended to her injuries she took as shower then got dressed in a red and black corset top along with some brown leather pants that laced up the outside of her legs. Along with that she wore a pair of ankle length black high heeled boot, the heels brought her total height up from five feet seven inches to five feet eleven inches.

As she walked out of her rooms she caught sight of Hermione, Rukia and Ginny, the three girls were wearing the same outfit but in different colors. Rukia was wearing black leather pants with a royal purple backless, sleeveless shirt and knee high blood red high heel boots. Hermione's shirt was gold while her pants were burgundy red, her boots were black, Ginny on the other hand was wearing a blue shirt, black pants and dark brown boots. Kushina smirked before she said, "looking good there you three, your boys will drool the moment they lay eyes on you." She then clapped her hands together before she said, "lets go make our boys speechless," with that she led the other three girls out of the common room and down the staircase to the ground floor.

As the girls reached the ground floor Kushina caught sight of the men, it seemed that Kenpachi had his injuries taken care of since he wasn't sporting any bandages under his loose white silk shirt. Kushina let out a low wolf whistle as she looked all three men up and down, Kenpachi was wearing skin tight stone washed blue jeans with a pair of doc martins. Beside her, Rukia swallowed thickly as she stared at Ron's outfit which consisted of a pair of black slacks, blue dress shirt and black doc martins, Ginny let out a small whimper as she caught sight of her boyfriends outfit. Tetsuzaemon was clad in a black muscle shirt, which he was wearing a black leather jacket over, tight black jeans that molded to every muscle in his legs and a pair of dark brown Doc Martins.

Kushina felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and she heard as a husky voice growled in her ear, "you look good enough to eat, makes me wish I could play the big bad wolf…" She laughed softly as she leaned back into his chest, she watched in amusement at how Ginny had walked over to Tetsuzaemon and after she looked him from head to toe she leaned up to purr something into his ear. Whatever it was that she said, it made the lieutenant blush, Rukia and Hermione also went over to their boyfriends, both men had murmured appreciatively at how they looked.

With her lips curved upward in a satisfied smile Kushina murmured, "I'd be happy to let you play the big bad wolf. However, you were the one that wanted to use tonight to test that device of yours." She felt him sigh and she chuckled before she asked softly, "when are you going to put it on us?"

He snorted softly before he let her go to reach into his pocket, as he did so he walked around her so that he was standing in front of her instead of directly behind her. He handed a box over to her with a grand flourish as he said, "your tracker, my love. I hope it pleases you," with that comment he flashed a rakish grin up at her before he motioned for her to open the palm sized box.

Kushina rolled her eyes at Kisuke's theatrics before she did as he bade and opened the black velvet box, inside resting on blue silk, which unknown to Kisuke was the exact same color as his eyes from his life as Minato, were a pair of earrings. The earrings were made of white gold and a single rose above a tear dropped shaped ruby. She raised her eyebrows at the earrings but allowed Kisuke to slip the earrings into the holes in her ears, she then kissed him lightly before she said, "I love them, thank you."

He smiled impishly at her before he tapped her lightly on the tip of her nose, which she promptly scrunched as she glared at him playfully, he then said, "you're welcome, love." With that he walked over to the other six people in the group and handed them all each a black velvet box, Kushina had wandered over to the group, she peered over Hermione's shoulder. She whistled at the stud and clasp earrings in the box, the earrings had a round sapphire with three small hearts beside it, one at the top and two at the bottom in a triangle shape.

Kushina hummed before she said, "those are pretty, don't you think so, 'Mione," she glanced at the brown eyed girl slyly. Hermione snorted but she quickly put the earrings on before she took Kenpachi's box from him and opened it, she gave a low whistle before she turned the box so Kushina could see inside it. Nestled inside, resting on black silk was a ring made of white gold, in the middle was an oval shaped blue topaz, flanking both sides of the stone was a small diamond.

Hermione admired the ring for a few minutes before she handed the box back to Kenpachi and said, "you have excellent taste in jewelry Kisuke. I can't wait to see what Kushina's wedding band is going to be like, or are you two going to bother with rings," she asked the pair curiously.

Kushina smirked before she said, "you're just going to have to wait to find out, 'Mione," she glanced over at Kenpachi who had put the ring on the middle finger of his left hand. Hermione pouted at her best friends remark while Ron and Ginny snickered at the look on the brilliant witches face.

The brother and sister then opened their own boxes, they gasped in shock over the jewelry inside the velvet containers. Ginny's box held a pair of stud earrings, the stone in the center of each stud was a flawless Peridot surrounding the round jewel was a ring of diamonds. Inside Ron's box was a ring made out of yellow-gold, in the center of the band was a rectangle shaped aquamarine. Flanking the pale blue gem were three diamonds in a row, after he gaped at the ring he opened his mouth to begin to argue with Kisuke that it was too expensive before he shut his mouth with a soft click of his teeth before he even said a word. He ruefully remembered the last time he tried to argue with his best friends fiancé about the expensiveness of a gift, Kisuke had merely presented him with an even more expensive version of the previous gift.

Wordlessly the siblings put on the jewelry while Ron watched Rukia open her box, inside it were studs that were almost identical to Ginny's earrings. Except the middle stone were garnets and not peridots, as the small lieutenant gazed at the earrings she said, "you used our birthstones for a reason. Didn't you, Captain Urahara," she then glanced at him in amusement. Kisuke had merely nodded at the dark haired girl in response to her inquiry.

Tetsuzaemon had opened his box warily and cautiously peeked inside the container, he raised an eyebrow at the ring nestled within, it was made of yellow gold. It had a ruby in a diamond axis with a point at the knuckles and pointed toward either side of his hand, along each side of the ruby was a small diamond. He placed the ring on his right ring finger before he slipped his right arm over Ginny's shoulders and asked, "so what exactly do these pieces of jewelry do anyway?"

Kisuke smiled at them before he flicked his signature fan open and held it in front of his face, he then said, "they're trackers, they will allow the Seireitei to get a visual of any operative wearing one. Thus allowing us to keep track of all shinigami that are assigned to the living world without having to have them report or send someone to check up on them."

Rukia reached up to the earring in her left earlobe and asked, "you mean if these had been around during my time in Karakura…The Captains would have known that I had no choice about giving Ichigo my powers and making him a temporary shinigami?"

Kisuke snapped closed his fan, he then pointed it at her and said cheerfully, "exactly. Hence the reason that the Soutaicho agreed to let me invent and test the trackers, I had a little help from Filius and Lily though." As he had spoken the blond haired man had moved over to Kushina and draped his left arm across her shoulders. Kushina leaned into his side with a happy hum, she felt his chest rumble as he said, "I won't be accompanying you since I'll be testing the visual aspects of the trackers. Don't forget to eat as well as have a good time," at that he had squeezed Kushina's right shoulder as he withdrew his arm from across them.

Kushina laughed before she turned to him and kissed him thoroughly before she murmured against his lips, "don't worry, I'll make sure they eat." As she pulled away from him she flashed a wicked smile up at him before she said, "after all I have yet to introduce them to the wonders of modern cuisine." At that five of the six people joining her looked at her in worry and speculation, they were beginning to wonder if it was wise to go with her after all.

However they didn't have much time to worry or speculate if it was wise because Kushina was making her way to the Entrance doors while calling out over her shoulder, "lets go. We have a long fun night ahead of us after all!" Hermione shook her head over her friends antics before she grabbed Kenpachi's left hand and with a sigh the large captain followed his brown eyed witch. Ron had merely smiled reassuringly at Rukia before he guided her out of the Entrance Hall by pushing her lightly with his hand at the small of her back. Ginny and Tetsuzaemon followed the pair while shaking their heads over how Kushina or Kisuke could convince someone to do something that they weren't quite sure that they wanted to do.

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An hour later, Kisuke was in the Room of Requirement with the professors and some of the older students, who were treating this as an impromptu Muggle Studies class. Everyone except Kisuke watched in amazement as a large city appeared in front of them on the large screen, the words 'searching for targets' appeared on the screen over the images. Several moments later the words were replaced by the words, 'target acquired. Begin surveillance?'

Kisuke typed an affirmative and watched as the screen changed to the inside of building, there was no sound to accompany the image until Kisuke typed the order. Suddenly, loud and fast paced music poured out of the speakers and the computer homed in on one of the seven signals in the club. It zeroed in on Kushina who was standing at the bar, with a few typed commands her voice came out of the speakers as she said, "I'll have two Dr. Peppers, two Sprites, a Mountain Dew, a Pepsi and a Cherry Coke."

The man behind the counter nodded before he began making the drinks as he did so he asked, "do you need someone to take these for you?" After Kushina shook her head 'no,' he nodded before he placed the seven glasses on a tray to allow her to carry them all at once. She flashed a smile at him before she picked up the tray and began making her way across the dance floor, she kept to the outer edge to make the way easier on herself. As she moved across the floor she had to balance the tray on her right hand and lift it over her head a few times before she made it to the table.

When she finally reached the table Ron and Rukia had just returned, Kushina's lips quirked as she said, "I'll take a wild guess and say that the two of you are thirsty." The pair nodded from their seats, Ron had his arm draped across the back of Rukia's chair and the pair were panting slightly as well as being covered in a fine film of sweat. As Kushina placed the drinks down in front of each person she said, "a Sprite for Hermione, one Cherry Coke for Ginny, a Pepsi for Ron, Mountain Dew for Tetsuzaemon, another Sprite for Rukia and Dr. Peppers for both myself and Kenpachi."

After she set the last drink down she dropped into her seat and stared out at the dance floor, after she had taken a several sips of her sprite Hermione asked, "so how did you know about this club, Kushina?" She then raised an eyebrow at her golden eyed best friend as she leaned into Kenpachi's side and commented, "not to mention you knew about the pass fee that allows you as many drinks as you want so long as you're in the club."

Kushina laughed before she said conspiratorially, "don't tell anyone, but Kensei owns the club," the group stared at her in shock and Kushina explained, "around thirty years ago he noticed that kids thirteen and older didn't really have a place to go and dance that was safe." She then shrugged lazily as she gestured around the clubs interior before she commented quietly, "so he had this place built, wrote down a list of rules and sat back to watch it flourish."

Hermione looked around the club before she said with a bemused smile on her face, "well I think he succeeded. From what I've heard this club has a higher reputation then any other club," she then looked over at the younger witch. After a few moments she stood up and smiled down at the others before she said teasingly, "well what are you waiting for. We came here to dance and have fun, not sit around and talk," with that said she dragged Kenpachi onto the dance floor.

Kushina laughed as she watched Hermione teaching the large man how to dirty dance, she muttered to herself, "I hope those pants are generous in the crotch or Hermione's dancing is going to be painful for Kenpachi." As she talked to herself she made her way onto the dance floor and allowed herself to get lost in the rhythm of the beat pounding out of the speakers. Even though her eyes were closed she seemed to be putting out a vibe that screamed, 'you can look but you can't touch,' or even, 'you can't own me so don't even think about trying to put your leash on my collar.' Because wrapped around her neck was a velvet collar and attached to it was a pair of tags, one read, 'Kisuke's kitten,' the other had, 'answers to dragon.' The tags were attached to a simple d shaped metal ring, it was large enough that someone could feasibly attach a leash to it.

As James and Remus watched the screen of the group dancing, Hermione's entire attention was wrapped up in Kenpachi, Kushina's was turned inward, Ron and Rukia were sitting at the table resting from their last bout of dancing. Ginny and Tetsuzaemon on the other hand were doing something that would either cause their respective mothers to faint or begin planning a large wedding. Remus chuckled in amusement before he whispered in his mates ear, "it's a good thing that Molly isn't here…" James snickered but nodded and hummed his agreement to his wolf's statement.

A few moments later Kisuke typed out a command and once again words crossed the screen, these read: 'surveillance canceled,' the screen then went blank and he said cheerfully, "I call that a successful test!" He then looked at Remus and James as he said, "I wouldn't worry about her and the others. Kushina will make sure they get back alright," he smiled sardonically as he said that before he left the room with the comment of, "I need to go report the success of the test."

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Five days after their trip to the muggle world, the trio and Ginny were sitting in the Great Hall when Hermione suddenly smirked before she said in an exaggerated Spanish accent, "that Vizzini, he can…fuss."

Ron snickered when Kushina smirked back at her before she too adopted an exaggerated accent before she said in a deep voice, "fuss, fuss. I think he like to scream… at us."

Ginny bit her lower lip when she heard Hermione continue in the same accent as before while the other students stared at the two girls oddly. "Probably he means no… harm," Hermione had drawn out the last word.

Everyone's gaze turned to Kushina as she said with a wicked glint to her eyes, "he's really very short on… charm."

Hermione continued to smirk as she quoted, it had become obvious that the girls were repeating something that they had heard. "You have a great gift for rhyme," she spoke this quote in a lofty tone.

Kushina grinned wickedly at her friend before she said, "yes, yes… Some of the time." Some of the Ravenclaws groaned at such an obvious pun being said, while Luna giggled.

Ginny then cut in with a fake glare and a sharp voice as she said, "enough of that!"

The two girls bashfully went quiet before Hermione asked with a sparkle in her eyes, "Fezzik, are there rocks ahead?"

Kushina's gold eyes glinted in amusement as she replied, "if there are, we'll all be dead."

Ginny again interrupted when she said in what was obviously fake exasperation, "no more rhymes, now. I mean it!"

Hermione smiled wickedly before she said as Ginny finished speaking, "anybody want a peanut?" After she asked that Ginny screamed in fake frustration before the girls collapsed in a fit of giggles. The Gryffindors merely shrugged at the girls antics, the Hufflepuffs stared at the oddly before they all obviously decided that it was safer not to know. The Slytherins had long ago decided that all of the lion house was not only insane but obviously blessed by some type of divine power since they got out of things that would kill most people. The Ravenclaws decided to research before asking as knowing the right question to ask was half the answer anyway. After their impromptu performance the three girls went back to their meals.

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As Kakashi and Genma approached the gates that led into Konoha, the senbon loving nin groaned happily before he muttered, "I'm so glad to be home." Izumo and Kotetsu looked up at that, as soon as they caught sight of the other two men their lips twitched in amusement before they collapsed in a fit of laughter. The pair were covered head to toe in mud, leaves and twigs, Genma scowled at the gate guardian before he muttered, "yeah, yeah, laugh it up." As he spoke he switched the senbon needle in his mouth from the right side to the left and rolled his eyes at the pairs antics.

Izumo calmed his laughter down long enough to gasp out, "I never realized the two of you were so good at disguising yourselves as mud monsters." Kakashi sighed before he shared an exasperated glance at Genma over their comrades continued laughter.

Kakashi snorted before he said in his usual lazy tone, "enough with the laughter, you can log the pair of us as being back in the village. I don't know about Genma but I'm going to report about the mission tomorrow, all I plan to do tonight is go home, take a shower and sleep."

Genma looked over at him before he nodded in agreement then turned to the still giggling pair and asked, "is Raido back in the village?"

Kotetsu took a deep breath of air before he nodded and said while he sat up from his prone state on the ground, "yeah, he got back yesterday. As far as I know he's at home, at least I didn't hear him talking about any plans to go out."

Genma nodded then said while walking away, "then my plans are similar to Kakashi's. I'm going to go home, take a shower and then I'm going to convince Raido to cuddle with me until I fall asleep." With that he waved an exhausted and dismissive goodbye over his shoulder, apparently he didn't even have enough energy to go home via his usual rooftop route.

Kakashi bade the two gate keepers goodnight before he to forwent his usual route home and walked away. As he walked the silver haired man allowed his head and feet to wander, he was brought back to reality as he heard a familiar voice muttering to itself. He looked around and blinked at the sight of a familiar tree that stood next to an equally familiar apartment building. He snorted before he said quietly to himself, "that's what you get for allowing your mind to wander, Hatake." He then sighed to himself before he leapt up into the tree and made his way to his usual perch, as he scaled the tree he had muttered, "might as well see what he's grumbling about while I'm here…"

Once he reached the proper limb he sprawled on his stomach and began to listen to the now clear muttering as he watched his favorite Chuunin go about making tea. Kakashi listened in puzzlement as he heard as the other man muttered, "crazy little blond, I knew he should have been kept away from all the crazy Jounins." Kakashi cocked his head to the right as he watched the tanned man settle in to grade papers, he chuckled to himself as what happened finally dawned on him. Naruto must have convinced Gai to help him pull a prank in either the name of training or testing, of course he could have pulled the whole challenging the spandex wearing man that he couldn't do it to get him to help.

Kakashi was still chuckling as he settled in and stared happily at the scarred man, as he watched him he remembered just how he had come to adore this man so much. It had been a cloudy night, the clouds were barely holding the rain contained within them from falling. He had been covered in blood and felling like a heartless monster, since during the assassination mission he had been forced to kill a six year old civilian. He had been ordered to leave no witnesses behind and hadn't known that a child was in the manor, the young boy had seen him standing over the mans corpse. The boy had just taken a deep breath to scream when Kakashi had moved behind him and had cleanly snapped his neck, killing him instantly. He had then gently laid the corpse of the child down and closed the large sightless brown eyes as he murmured, "I'm sorry."

As he traveled home using the buildings and the trees he had landed in the tree that he was currently laying in, he had seen movement from inside caught the Jounins attention. The Chuunin had put away the papers and had just returned from his Cello, he placed the large instrument between his thighs and leaned it against his chest. Kakashi was about to leave when the other man had drawn the bow across the strings, the silver haired man paused as the low sound reverberated through his bones. The sound captured his attention and caused him to settle back into the tree, his eyes had slipped shut as he listened to the combination of the instrument and the voice that accompanied it.

As he was listening to the sound, the heavens let go of the rain, by the time that the brown eyed man had finished his song and had put it away the Cello the rain had washed the blood away. Tears filled his eyes as he opened them, he reached up and removed his mask as the tears flowed down his cheeks, they were absorbed into the cloth mask that covered his lower face. As he silently cried he realized that he couldn't be a monster, after all a monster couldn't love and he just lost his heart to his angel.

Unknown to the tanned Chuunin, he had gained a fierce protector that night, actually he gained two if you followed the belief that Hound was a separate personality from Kakashi because he had won the hearts of both. Hound would never harm the Chuunin instructor, not even from a direct order from the Hokage, Hound would sooner tear out his own heart then hurt him and Kakashi was of the same opinion.

Kakashi was shaken out of his memories when the academy instructor finished the last paper and reached over his head to stretch his spine, which caused his white shirt to ride up and expose a sliver of tanned flesh between his sweatpants and shirt to Kakashi's view. The motion also cause a series of pops to ring out as well as a relieved sigh to come from the clearly exhausted Chuunin, after he put away the graded papers Iruka looked out the window and he murmured, "stay safe." With that quiet murmur the scarred man left his living room as he left he turned out the light and made his way to his bedroom, Kakashi stayed in place until the light in the bedroom was out.

Before he leapt from his perch in the ancient tree Kakashi whispered softly into the cold winter air, "good night, Iruka, may your dreams be sweet and kind," he then jumped from the tree and made his way home. He quickly reached the house he had bought after the Kyuubi's attack, after his father's suicide he had gone to live with his Sensei and Kushina, he hadn't been able to bear living in the house after he found his father in a pool of blood. While after the death of his Sensei and Kushina, he hadn't wanted to stay in their house either so he had thrown sheets over the furniture before he packed all of their clothes away and sealed the house exactly how Kushina had taught him.

He had bought a large house and converted the top floor into a training dojo, his dogs had their own room but often slept in the same room as hid did after a difficult mission. His kitchen was separated from the living room only by a breakfast bar and both rooms could be heated by the fireplace in the living room. Along the walls of the living room were built in bookcase filled with scrolls on jutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, sealing, medical jutsus and of course his Icha Icha collection, which included Kushina's set that she had scribbled notes in the margins.

As he landed outside the gates of his home he sighed in relief before he jumped the gate and made his way in the house, he lowered the settings of his traps from lethal to alerting. As he entered the house he heard the scratching of claws on wood floors as his nin dogs came to greet him eagerly, he chuckled as he watched his pack skid to a stop in front of him yelping excitedly and Pakkun said, "welcomed home, Boss!"

He knelt down and scratched them all behind the ears which earned wagging tails and happy growls from all of them, he then got up and commented, "missed me that much, huh." After the dogs had nodded, he led the way to the kitchen and fed them, as the pack ate he said quietly, "I'll buy each of you a steak tomorrow after I give my report." That announcement had caused him to receive a series of licks from each dog, he laughed before he said, "alright you guys, I'm going to bed. I'm beat," the silver haired man yawned tiredly before he trudged to his bedroom and then into his bathroom.

As he stripped himself of his clothes he left them in a pile on the floor since his dogs would know to leave them alone and he was the only human in the house. After his shower he walked over to the bed wearing only an eye patch and a pair of boxers, the dogs and his seals would warn him if someone entered the house. He flopped face down on the bed and gave a muffled groan, he snickered to himself as he remembered how people constantly tried to see what he looked like under his mask. Although he was no longer ashamed of how much he resembled his father, he found the many ways people tried to peek under his mask far too amusing to stop wearing the darn thing.

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Kushina smirked as she stared at the improved defenses of Konoha, it appeared her little students had followed her advice and tested them. She knew that if she used her old route that she could get captured so she used the old forgotten tunnels to enter the village. Once inside she changed to her animagus form and bounded across the rooftops toward Naruto's apartment, right before she landed on the window ledge she shifted back to human form.

She entered the small apartment via the kitchen window and upon finding the room empty she exited it into the living room where she found her son at his desk. She peeked over his shoulder and upon seeing it was a history paper she winced in sympathy before she said, "I always hated those."

Naruto jumped in his seat with a small yelp, he then turned around and grinned at her, as he gave her a hug he exclaimed, "Ryuu-Okaasan!"

She chuckled as she returned the enthusiastic hug before she said, "hello, Naru-Chan." She pulled back and took a good look at him before she said happily, "I see that Dobby has taken good care of you. Speaking of him, where is that little rascal," she asked curiously as she looked around the room. Normally the house elf was greeting her right alongside Naruto, it was odd not to have both of them hugging her to the point she was wheezing.

Naruto shrugged before he let go of her and said, "he had muttered something about some business he had to take care of or something like that. So what brings you by to see me? Did you have to give a report," he asked curiously while he finished his homework.

Kushina snorted before she said while she waved her hand dismissively, "I don't have to report until tomorrow so you have me for company for a while yet." Behind her mask her gold eyes gleamed before she settled in on the couch and asked, "so what have you been up to since I last talked to you?"

Naruto grinned as he bounced over to her and sat down beside her, he bounced as he said, "well one day I was bored and went for a walk. While on my little outing I came across a pair of Jounin, one of them looked as bored as I felt! The other was moping about something, the first one told the second that if the medics didn't have him on restricted training he'd happily accept the challenge."

Kushina's lips twitched before she asked, careful to keep the amusement out of her voice, "did the bored one have silver hair?" When Naruto nodded in response to her inquiry she asked, "and was the second man wearing a green spandex suit and orange legwarmers?" Again the hyperactive blond nodded and Kushina blinked a bit before she asked, "what happened next?"

Naruto giggled and his blue eyes sparkled in amusement before he said, "well you know how I told you about my Oiroke no Jutsu, right?" He glanced up at her and although she was puzzled by the question she nodded, he grinned before he said, "you told me that it would be perfect for infiltration or escaping an enemy that only knew a vague description of you."

Kushina blinked before she asked in a highly curious tone, "yes, I did, but what does that have to do with the two men you saw?"

Naruto snickered before he said in a cheerful tone, "simple, I asked if they minded checking a jutsu that I knew to make sure that I got it right. The bored guy said that he'd be glad to, while the loud one exclaimed something about helping children achieve the springtime of their youth or something like that." He waved his right hand dismissively as Kushina tried her best to keep her giggles from escaping and interrupting her son's story telling. As she settled in to listen to his tale, Naruto remembered that day as he was telling his Ryuu-Okasan all about it.

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Kakashi looked down at his sensei's son in amusement, inwardly he wondered what type of prank the little blond was planning, Gai too was curious as to both the prank and the jutsu. Most people saw Gai, his green spandex, exuberant personality then assumed he was all brawn and no brains. The civilians didn't realize that to make it to full Jounin it requires that you be intelligent since Jounin were in charge of the training of Genin as well as going on solo missions. If Gai wasn't intelligent then he wouldn't have been promoted to his current rank nor chosen to teach a team of Genin.

After both men had indicated their willingness to see the jutsu that the blond wanted to show them, Naruto went through the hand signs and called out, "Oiroke no Jutsu!" With a puff of smoke a blond haired woman appeared in his place, her hair was up in pig tails while clouds of steam conveniently covered certain parts of her from view. Gai got a small nosebleed before he whirled around muttering apologies the whole time, a small patch of Kakashi's mask became damp but otherwise the Jounin didn't react. Naruto transformed back to his male form before he said with his hands behind his head, "cool jutsu, huh."

The two men glanced at each other before Kakashi said, "it is actually. Have you thought about how you might use it," the silver haired man put away his book as he asked the question of the blond boy.

Naruto blinked as he looked up at them hesitantly he was surprised to find the pair genuinely interested in his answer. After a few moments of mutual staring he nodded and said, "yeah, I figured that I could use it to infiltrate civilian organizations and operations or escape from an enemy who only knows that they're chasing a male not female. It could also be used to guard female civilians who request a female Shinobi but truly need a male Shinobi to protect them. All the Shinobi would need is a female alias, after all, it'd be kind of fishy to have both a female and male Shinobi with the same name, the Shinobi could use a henge to disguise any familial traits or other distinguishing features." At that Naruto gestured to Kakashi's silver hair and Gai's eyebrows as examples of features that could be hidden by a henge.

Gai frowned in thought before he asked with a raised eyebrow, "would you be willing to teach us this Jutsu of yours?"

At his question Naruto's eyebrows almost reached his hairline and he gawked at the spandex clad man in shock for several stunned moments. He was even more startled when Kakashi stared at him expectantly, he managed to pull himself out of his shock to state, "I'll only teach you if you help me in a prank and submit to a test of your ability with my jutsu."

Gai beamed in pleasure, his smile sparkled so much that Naruto could have sworn he heard a 'ping' from it, while in the background Kakashi murmured, "agreed."

Naruto bounced in place for a few minutes before he plopped down on the ground and gestured for the pair to do the same. After they had complied, Naruto settled in for a long lecture, Ryuu-Okaasan had him explain the technique to her step by step once and he planned to do the same for the pair in front of him. He took a deep breath then he began, "the Oiroke no Jutsu isn't an illusionary technique it's a full transformation. Thus in order for it to be successful the user must have an in depth understanding of their opposite gender, don't get me wrong, the jutsu will do the work for you but for it to succeed it has to have something to work with."

Both men gave the boy a conceding nod to acknowledge the truth of his statement so Naruto continued, "it uses that understanding to transform the user into what they would have looked like had they been born the opposite gender but with the same features. When I use it I tweak it so it's what I would look like had I been born about three to four years earlier and female to boot, I could also tweak it so I was born five years after my actual year of birth if I wanted."

Naruto sighed before he said in an approximation of Iruka's tone that he used when he lectured, "it has a few drawbacks. The first being that if you stay in the female form for more than twenty eight days then you will face the dreaded terror of all women. The second being that if you're not careful you can become pregnant if you're in that form for more than a month."

As that Kakashi blinked before he said, "you mean that if a pair of Shinobi are the last of their clans they could use this jutsu and beget heirs despite being mated to a male?"

Naruto stared at him in puzzlement before he nodded and said, "I guess it could be used in that manner since it takes very little chakra to sustain after the initial transformation."

Gai hummed before he turned to Kakashi and said thoughtfully, "so far the benefits outweigh the risks." Kakashi nodded in agreement before Gai turned back to Naruto and asked, "what do we need to do to start learning it?"

Naruto looked up at them before he cocked his head to the right as he asked, "do you have a fairly good understanding of a woman's internal anatomy?"

Kakashi raised his only visible eyebrow he said sardonically, "yes, it was a requirement for a mission once. Is there anything else about a woman that we need to know," the silver haired man stared at Naruto as he related his inquiry.

Naruto stared back at him before he asked in a bald tone, "do you know what a woman's supposed to look like beneath her clothes?"

Kakashi pulled out his orange clad book and waved it in the air before he said, "I do. I'm not too sure about him though," he pointed at the green clad man beside him as he spoke.

Gai looked up from his position in mid-squat and said while he frowned at his 'eternal rival,' "I may not read those disgusting books of yours. But I did extensive study for that mission, so I believe that I have a good understanding of how a woman looks like under her clothes."

The blond haired boy stared at them in puzzlement since his Ryuu-Okaasan also read the same orange covered books, after a few moments he decided to ignore the by-play between the two men. "There are three options to the jutsu, one is the one that I showed you, another is a scantily clad version and the final is the fully clad version. I plan to teach all three version to you but I'd recommend learning the unclothed version first," he said seriously before he got up and gestured for both men to follow him.

He led them to an out of the way training ground and after he made sure the coast was clear he began showing them the signs for the three different variations. After an hour both had successfully used the first version, Kakashi looked much the same, to Gai's amusement one of the strategically placed puffs of steam was right over the lower half of his face, or rather her face. Kakashi transformed back into his male self and glanced over at the utterly shameless Gai, he, or rather she, was lying in the middle of the training ground giggling to herself. Kakashi tilted his head to the right as he studied the female version of his 'eternal rival,' thankfully it seemed that Gai had realized that large bushy eyebrows did not look attractive on a woman.

Instead they were far slimmer and arched over Gai's large black eyes, which were partially closed as tears of mirth filled them, Gai's hair now reached to mid-back which due to her rolling around from laughter was a tangled mess. After a few moments Kakashi sighed before he said, "Gai, you should probably change back before someone comes across us and thinks you're a total pervert."

Gai looked up at him while she was still laughing and choked out, "you mean more of a pervert then you for standing there staring at me?" However, the black haired Jounin climbed to her feet and quickly reverted back to being a male, Gai then turned to Naruto and asked, "can we try the fully clothed version next?"

Naruto stared at the pair in bemusement before he nodded before he nodded and said chirpily, "sure, knock yourselves out. Who could I be to stand in the way of self-experimentation," he questioned rhetorically.

Kakashi went first, this time the mist disappeared quickly and when the silver haired ninja reappeared, her hip length hair was in a braided bun while she was wearing a sleeveless turtleneck that had the neck pulled over her lower face. Or her lower half was a pair of black shorts which was covered by a silver skirt that had slits up both sides to her mid thigh. Her chin length bangs were swept over the left side of her face, which completely hid not only her scar but the eye she received from Obito near his death.

Gai, on the other hand, was wearing a dark green dress with a pair of black shorts underneath it, the dress had slits up both sides all the way to her hips, her hair was pulled back into a braid and up into a loose bun. Both women were still wearing the standard Shinobi sandals and their ankle wraps, Kakashi looked down at her chest then over at Gai's before she said, "huh, looks like I'm a small C cup while you're a large C to D cup."

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Naruto watched in amusement as his beloved Ryuu-Okasan rolled on the floor clutching her stomach as tears of mirth rolled down her cheeks from her bright gold eyes. After several moment she gasped in air as her laughter calmed to an occasional chuckle, she looked up at her smirking son before she reached up and tugged him down until he was lying curled up beside her. She ran her clawed fingers through his hair as she asked, "so did anything else interesting happen that day?"

Naruto burrowed closer to her side as he began to purr unconsciously before he said absently, "not really… Well except for the fact that one of the black haired man's students wanted me to teach him the same jutsu to be able to escape from his fan girls." Naruto shuddered at the thought of fan girls being near him, Itachi had told him enough horror stories about his fan girls to convince him that having any was hell on earth.

Kushina winced slightly she remembered how terrified Kakashi had been after he discovered he had fan girls, thankfully her and Minato had been able to calm him down, afterwards, Kushina had given him a few tips to scare them off. After a few moments of carding her fingers through his golden locks she asked, "so did you teach that Genin your jutsu?" She felt Naruto nod under her hand and against her ribcage, she then asked, "just how did those two prove their proficiency with the jutsu?"

Naruto snickered as he remembered the tale that Shizuka had told him after following the pair on the rather eventful mission, as he told her all about it her lips twitched her lips from repressed laughter.

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"Do you understand," asked the Sandaime Hokage as he stared at Kakashi and Gai. After the pair had nodded he said, "very well, be sure to deliver the scroll to me personally, however, making sure that it doesn't end up in anyone else's hands is paramount."

Both men nodded and said quietly, "yes, sir," with that both men bowed they left to retrieve their fields kits before they left the village. They headed north west until they slipped through Grass country until they reached the border between Grass and Earth country. Upon reaching the border they slipped over and after they had gone about fifty miles into the country they stopped to look for the place where the scroll would be hidden according to Sarutobi-Sama.

While Kakashi retrieved the scroll Gai looked up and cursed softly, Kakashi popped back out of the hiding spot and asked tersely, "what's wrong?"

"Iwa-Nin," he muttered while he glanced over at his silver haired partner who swore softly before he motioned for them to move.

After they ducked into a hiding spot, Kakashi hissed a question, "did they get a good look?"

Gai shrugged before he murmured quietly, "I don't know…"

The cheetah hiding near them muttered to herself, "oh boy, here we go…" She sighed quietly as she listened in on the conversation between the three newly arrived Iwa-Nin.

"I'm telling you, I saw a Konoha-Nin here," the youngest looking one exclaimed while the older two looked at him skeptically.

One of the others sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose before he asked, "did you at least get a good look at him or her?"

The younger nin bit his lower lip nervously as he shook his head negatively. He then commented lowly, "no, I only saw enough to be sure that the ninja was male and he was wearing a Konoha Jounin flack vest."

The two older nin's frowned before the second asked, "what did it look like the Jounin was doing?"

The rookie shrugged before he said in confusion, "he looked like he was playing lookout." Shizuka leaned forward and studied what the three Iwa-Nin's looked like, the youngest had a small crescent scar on his left temple which was white with age. The first of the eldest that had spoken was wearing the standard Iwa uniform but was wearing a brown bandana over his hair. The second was wearing goggles with a dark green band to hold them tight against his face.

The one wearing the bandana looked over at the one wearing goggles before he said, "I'll alert the other patrols, it's unusual to have a single Konoha Jounin or more within our border and not be on an escort or guard mission." He then clapped his right hand on the rookie's shoulder as he said quietly, "great job, now lets go back to work since it doesn't seem as if they're still around."

After the three nin left both Gai and Kakashi sighed in relief before Gai asked, "so how are we going to get out of this mess?"

Kakashi looked at the pensive Taijutsu expert before he smirked and said, "easy. We just use that one jutsu that Naruto taught us, after all they'll be looking for one or more male Jounin, not a pair of sweet female civilians on the way to visit old friends out of the country."

Gai smirked back at his silver haired friend and said cheerfully, "you're right, we'll just slip out of the country and into Waterfall." He then paused for a moment in thought before he asked, "should we stay in that form until we reach Konoha?"

Kakashi shrugged before he used the jutsu and stood before Gai, she was wearing a dark blue blouse, loose black pants and sturdy boots, while her hair was pulled back in a loose braid. What startled Gai the most was how her heart-shaped face was completely bare save for how her bangs were again over the left side of her face. Her rose colored lips curved into a smile and he noted that even without the mask to cover the lower half of her face Kakashi's right eye still turned into an upside down u-shape.

Gai quickly followed his lead and shifted to his Oiroke form, his female form was clad in loose dark green gi pants and a lighter green blouse, she too wore sturdy boots. However her hair was pulled up into a loose bun held in place with chopsticks, she then gave her companion a small bow before she queried, "shall we go then?"

Kakashi laughed, her voice sounded like honeyed chimes as her laughter pealed out into the air, after the small laugh the silver haired woman led the way to a road known to civilian travelers. They then covertly stepped onto the road at a bend, Kakashi had sensed a group of Iwa-Nin near them so she had tugged Gai's hand as she said smugly, "see, I told you that the shortcut would work!"

Gai having also sensed the Iwa-Nins merely laughed in in a deeper note then Kakashi, she then said, "alright, alright already. You were right," she then tugged her hand out of the silver haired woman's grip before walking down the road toward the border to Waterfall country. The three Iwa-Nin looked the two women over before the one wearing sunglasses gave the other two a signal to let the woman go on their way.

The two Leaf Jounin knew they couldn't go very fast as they were disguised as civilian women, the Hokage had given them almost two months to complete the mission by, just in case they were spotted. However since they'd decided to make it seem as if they hadn't passed their academy exam, they were able to augment their speed and stamina with chakra. Thus shortening what would normally be a three month journey into a journey that would last about a month and a half, the journey would normally only take them three weeks max without any civilians to slow them down.

After a one week journey they crossed over the border to Waterfall country, they then began heading south east toward the border to Fire country. After a week and a half, they slipped over the border, they then began to make their way to Konoha. On the way they sensed the chakra of at least six ninja, to disguise who they were and what they were up to, the pair began talking about seeing old friends.

A few minutes later the women came across a group of four Chuunin and two Jounin, all six men looked up and saw the laughing women. As they noticed the group of men, the two women bowed and chorused, "good day, Shinobi-sans."

The bemused ninja nodded back to them before a large man wearing a Chuunin vest cocked his head to the right and asked, "where are you ladies heading?"

"To Konoha, we're on our way to visit some old friends who reside there," Gai said cheerfully. She bowed again to them and said, "my name is Ayane Maede and my companion is Sakoto Harada. What are yours," she inquired curiously.

The large Chuunin chuckled before he said, "my name is Hayato Yamashita." He then pointed at a slim brown eyed and hand also wearing a Chuunin vest, standing beside him was a stocky Chuunin with brown eyes, his black hair was in a buzz cut. "That's Taichi Ikada," the brown haired man nodded, "and Sasumu Kokawa," at that the man with the buzz cut gave a smile and a bow.

A black haired man with equally black eyes gave the pair a rakish smile before he said, "Shigeo Yamashita, at your service." He was almost as large as the first man who had spoken, he pointed at the pair of Jounins. One had short black hair and golden brown eyes, he wore his forehead protector on his belt while the other man had brown eyes and long red hair ponytail at the base of his neck. As he pointed at each one he introduced them, "Hiroki Ohayashi," the golden eyed Jounin nodded, "and Manabu Hayashi," at that the red haired Jounin waved cheerfully.

Manabu glanced at the silver haired woman before he turned to the tall cheerful black eyed woman and said, "we'd be happy to escort you to the village. We're heading back there from an escort mission anyway, we wouldn't mind some company that's not Shinobi." Upon noticing the slightly wary looks that the two women were exchanging he held up his hands and said with a smile, "it's just that I noticed that you're chakra coils seem to be at the same strength as an academy student. I was wondering if you had attempted to become Shinobi yourself."

At that Kakashi nodded and said, "yes we were in the academy, however our families had to move and forbade us to go to our new homes academy." The silver haired woman shrugged before she said with a sly smile, "however, they neglected to forbid us from practicing what we had already learned."

Taichi laughed as they walked along the path before he asked curiously, "how fast can you two run?"

"If it were only the two of us we could make it to the village in about three to four weeks," Gai commented quietly. The six men hummed before they quickened their pace slightly and the girls matched it, the eight were swiftly making their way to Konoha.

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It was past midnight when the eight stopped for the night, to the surprise of the men, the two women took out ration bars to eat instead of cooking a meal. The pair then set up a tent and a pair of bedrolls inside of it, they went to bed after biding the men goodnight.

This routine continued for the next three and a half weeks until Hiroki looked around and commented, "huh, we should make it to Konoha by tomorrow afternoon at this rate." He then turned to the two women and said while he flashed a grin at them, "and the two of you can see your old friends."

And Hiroki was right because at one fifteen in the afternoon, the next day the eight of them saw the walls of Konoha and quickly reached the gate. Izumo and Kotetsu glanced up at the two women curiously before they turned to the two Jounins. "How was the mission, Hayashi-San," asked Izumo while he marked down when the team returned back to the village in the arrival log.

The red haired Jounin laughed as he signed in, "it was good, easy actually, hardly any fighting at all, we met these two ladies on our way back and offer to escort them since we were heading the same way. Apparently they've come to visit some friends who live in the village," he then shrugged as he watched the rest of his team sign in.

Kotetsu had taken the papers from the silver haired woman, his eyes widened when he saw a red eye peeking from behind her bangs, he then looked down at the papers in his hand. He read the note scrawled on a loose sheet of paper, it read: 'don't say anything, Gai and I need to speak to the Hokage at once.' His dark eyes caught the single visible eye of the woman in front of him, although he was silently wondering how the hell Kakashi and Gai had fooled the group with them into thinking they were civilian women he kept his mouth shut. He gave the Jounin a fractional nod before he said cheerfully, "everything seems to be in order. However, it seems you've been asked to deliver something to the Hokage." He then turned to one of the two Jounins who escorted the pair to Konoha and said, "Ohayashi-San, I know you all just returned but could you show them the way the Hokage tower?"

Hiroki looked up at him before he grinned and said, "sure, we have to turn in our mission report anyway before Umino-San gets there."

Kotetsu noticed the familiar gleam to the silver haired woman's eye before she asked in fake innocence, "do you mean Iruka-Kun, about so tall," she gestured at herself before she continued by saying, "tan, has a scar across the bridge of his nose." When the stunned men nodded she beamed at them cheerfully while her visible eye became an upside down U-shape, she then said chirpily, "lets get going then! It's been a while since I've seen Iruka-Kun," with that she grabbed her friends arm and walked through the gates.

Upon reaching the tower the six men handed over their mission reports to the ninja manning the desk and the Hokage approached the oddly familiar pair, "I understand that you have something for me?"

The pair nodded and the silver haired woman handed over a scroll as she said, "we were tasked to bring you this Hokage-Sama."

The Sandaime took the scroll from her and noticed that it was sealed by Jiraiya's usual means, as he was about to ask them if they were part of his students information network, Iruka walked in with a sulking blond haired boy behind him. Iruka took one look at the beaming black haired woman and the silver haired woman near the Hokage standing in a lazy slouch, he took a deep breath before he smacked Naruto upside the head. As the blond rubbed his head and while he muttered complaints Iruka gave a nod to both women as he said, "Hatake-San, Might-San," he then sat down at his usual post and began to take reports from his fellow Shinobi.

The silver haired woman pouted while the dark haired woman wailed about failing a test before Naruto walked up and asked, "what are you talking about? Iruka-Sensei doesn't count as part of the test, he knows me too well for you to be able to fool him for long."

The two Jounin were mollified and with a few signs shifted back into their male forms, the pair had thankfully already had what amounted as the worst nightmare a man could have pass and could shift back easily. The group of Shinobi that had escorted them gaped as they saw Kakashi Hatake and Gai Might in their habitual dress in front of them. Gai beamed at the men before he loudly declared, "you are true Shinobi in the BRILLIANT SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH!"

Kakashi rolled his eyes before he bowed to the Hokage and said, "we'll give you our report later, Hokage-Sama." The Sandaime nodded numbly as he stared at the departing Jounin in shock.

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Once again Kushina was rolling on the ground in laughter, if it weren't for the silencing spell placed on the apartment, Naruto's neighbors would wonder just who was howling in laughter. As she wiped away the tears from her eyes she asked in-between gasping breaths, "so what prank did you have them help you with?" At that Naruto grinned down at her before he began the tale of his prank.


	20. Chapter Nineteen: Foxes and Flame

**Chapter Nineteen:** **Foxes and Flame**

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Naruto then leaned back with a smirk as he began to remember the day he had them help him with several pranks. Although now that he thought about it, the whole fooling six fellow Konoha Shinobi into believing that you were no more than civilian women was kind of hilarious. As he remembered that week he recounted all of it to his beloved Ryuu-Okasan.

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Not even three days after he taught them his Oiroke no Jutsu, Kakashi and Gai tracked down Naruto to ask when he wanted them to help him with a prank. Naruto had stared down at them from his position on the underside of a large tree branch before he said, "sure, if you want I've had a few ideas in the back of my head for a while." With that he dropped down from his position on the tree and led them back to the training ground they had used before.

Unnoticed by the three below him, Neji was resting in a tree nearby, just as he was about to announce his prescence to him, Gai asked cheerfully, "what is the first thing to do when pulling pranks?"

Naruto smirked at them, something which inwardly caused Kakashi to twitch over how much the blond boy resembled his mother at that moment. Naruto then said slyly, "first thing you need to do when pulling a prank is simple. First plan out all the details of the prank you plan to pull but leave room for improvisation, second thing to plan is several escape routes and diversionary techniques as well as places to hide."

With that Naruto pulled a storage scroll out, with a small amount of blood he opened it and after finding a particular item, he unsealed it as well, the item was several maps of Konoha. On one maps was the usual routes of the Jounin of Konoha, on another map was the usual routes of all the ANBU, yet another held the details of each Clans security around their compounds or houses. Neji was startled at how shabby his Clans security seemed to be when put onto paper, he was also startled to see the ANBU's headquarters security on the map.

He listened in as Naruto said, "my pranks have several purposes to them, which include improving my ability to set traps along with my infiltration methods, diversionary tactics and my evasion techniques." Neji gaped as he realized that the younger boy was right, every time Naruto had played a prank he had been testing or improving something that would help him be a better Shinobi. He shook himself out of his own thoughts when he heard Naruto continue, "not to mention it make those that I prank improve their own security. It also serves to test their ability to adapt to strange situations as well as testing their awareness of their surroundings. The pranks also serve to teach them not to become complacent in their skills, after all just because you're good doesn't mean that there isn't someone better than you."

Kakashi nodded as he dropped down to sit in front of Naruto and asked as he looked at one of the maps, "did you make these?" Naruto blinked before he nodded in confused confirmation while he idly wondered why the silver haired man would ask that, at his nod Gai, Kakashi and Neji gaped at him in shock, of course the three below hadn't been able to see the gaping Hyuga. After a few moments of stunned silence Kakashi said, "that must have taken a lot of work as well as days of surveillance." He looked down and noticed that his own route included his variations of it, every so often he'd change the pattern of his own route. Naruto blushed before he nodded again, it had taken him almost an entire year to prepare the maps even with the help of the cheetah's and snakes.

Gai also sat down as he asked curiously, "so who will we be pranking?"

Naruto grinned before he said with his bright blue eyes twinkling in anticipation, "the ANBU, the Inuzuka, and the Hyuga," as he said each group he pointed at their areas on the map.

Gai stared at the blond in front of him and after he had stared at him for several moments the spandex clad man asked, "how are we going to do that? And how exactly are we pranking them," he finished with his bushy eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Kakashi also looked at Naruto in curiosity, Neji leaned forward as he silently wondered if he should warn his Clan about the upcoming prank. Finally he dismissed the idea, after all if his Clan was as good as they claimed then the prank wouldn't work at all on them.

Naruto smirked then he leaned forward and pointed at the ANBU headquarters before he said, "the prank that I have planned for them is to change the color of their uniforms and to paint a sign announcing their location to everyone." He snickered before he said, "that one is one of the easier pranks that I've pulled, it's even easier than when I paint the Hokage monument."

"What are you going to do if they catch you," asked Gai as he pondered the wisdom of pranking his former comrades.

Naruto looked up at him before he said, "that depends on who catches me. If it's the crazy snake lady, I plan to use the escape route that goes past the shops that sell dango and sake." Both Gai and Kakashi blinked at the rather accurate description of Anko's personality as well as Naruto's extensive knowledge of her favorite vices.

Naruto then pointed at the Hyuga compound as he said conversationally, "I'm going to need Gai to help by distracting them while you and me prank them."

Kakashi raised his eyebrow at him before he casually asked, "and how are we pranking the Hyuga?" Neji cocked his head to the left as he listened in on the conversation taking place between his sensei, his sensei's supposed 'eternal rival' and the blond haired prankster of Konoha.

Naruto looked up at the silver haired Jounin before he said, "I'm going to put hair dye in the shampoo of the Clan's council as well as putting special seals on their formal robes. The seal will cause a series of random saying to appear over the speakers head, such as 'I have no clue what I'm talking about so don't pay any attention to me' you know, stuff like that." In the tree Neji's white eyes sparkled and he bit his lower lip to suppress the laugh that was threatening to escape, he was beginning to regret not asking the younger boy his name when he had taught him that Jutsu of his. Neji decided then and there that he'd keep the younger boy's secret about how good he was at planning as well as how good he was at information gathering, although he would fiercely defend the other boy if anyone ever said otherwise in front of both of them.

Kakashi leaned forward as he asked curiously, "just how are you going to use Gai as a distraction in the Hyuga prank?"

Naruto looked over at the black haired Jounin and said, "I just need him to act like himself, if he could loudly give a speech on the importance of youth or some such subject, that would be great. I just need something loud and flashy to distract them long enough for the two of us to sneak inside to place the seals and put the dye in the shampoo's."

Gai nodded before he said cheerfully, "I can do that, I shall give them my speech on the Importance of Youthfulness!" As he said that he had stood up and a backdrop of a sunset appeared behind him, Kakashi ignored it with the ease of long practice while Naruto goggled at the scene in front of him. After the sunset disappeared from sight Gai looked back at Naruto before he asked, "how are we to prank the Inuzuka? With their Ninken it will be difficult to sneak up on them to do anything," the bowl haired man pointed out.

At that Naruto grinned up at them both before he said, "don't worry about them, I've already got that covered," he then pulled the maps between them and began to lay out the different escape routes. All the watchers blinked in shock when the blond boy pointed at several routes that led through the Uchiha compound as well as several hiding spots inside the compounds. The routes varied in the methods of escape, some zigzagged across rooftops others were partially across rooftops then through several alleyways while others doubled back upon themselves. There was even one that led right through the women's bath house, as Naruto pointed at that one he said, "I highly suggest only using that one if you're being chased by a bunch of men. You should transform into your Oiroke no Jutsu form before going inside however as that will make the women attack your followers in masse especially if you yell that they are perverts as you run inside."

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Three hours later, the pair of Jounin watched in amusement as the blond haired boy skillfully snuck inside the ANBU headquarters, twenty minutes later Naruto strolled back out of the building. While Naruto had been inside the two Jounin had painted a sign on the outside of the building, Naruto admired the work and Kakashi placed a time released genjutsu over the building, it would keep the illusion of the usual façade over the building until the time was up then the genjutsu would drop to reveal the sign. The three then snuck away from the area before they could be spotted, they then headed to the area of the second stage of their mass prank. Unknown to the three pranksters they had been followed the entire time by Neji who had watched in amusement as his sensei had followed the plans of an eleven year old pre-Genin. As he watched the pair paint the outside of the ANBU headquarters he snickered quietly, he had used the Oiroke no Jutsu to hide from his fan girls, inwardly he wondered if Lee could be taught the jutsu, if so it would certainly disconcert an enemy who wouldn't be expecting a woman to hit as hard as Lee could.

Neji watched, not even hiding his amusement, as his sensei leapt upon the wall around the Hyuga Clan compound and began making a loud speech on the importance of YOUTH! While his clan was distracted by the loud and obnoxious presence of his sensei he used his Byakugan to watch as Naruto and Kakashi slipped over the wall. Thirty minutes later the pair slipped back over the wall, after they did Naruto hid in a tree while Kakashi strolled over to the wall where Gai was standing and asked lazily, "Gai, what are you doing? Did you forget that we arranged to have a spar today," he glanced up from his book and held back a laugh as he noticed the looks of immense relief on the faces of the Hyuga clan members.

Gai frowned before he exclaimed, "so we did, My Rival, for my failure to arrive on time and thus forcing you to look for me, I shall run around the village twenty times on my hands!"

With that the pair left the compound leaving quite a few relieved members of the Hyuga clan, many of the branch members began to feel a little sorry for Neji for having to deal with that everyday. After they were far enough away from the Hyuga clan they were joined by Naruto, who then led the way to the Inuzuka clan area to start the third phase of their prank. To the surprise of Gai, Kakashi, and Neji, waiting for them were several cheetah's of various sizes, all nine of the cats nodded a greeting to Naruto, who had simply leaned down and rubbed one of them on the head as he said, "hello Etsuyo. How have you guys been," he inquired curiously.

Etsuyo purred as she rubbed her head against his chest as she said, "hello, Naru-Chan, we've been well. What help do you need," she asked as she laid down on the ground in front of the young blond.

Naruto grinned down at the cheetah in front of him as he asked, "can you all summon a shadow clone?" At that all nine cheetah's summoned a shadow clone before they glanced curiously at their mistresses son, who grinned at them and chirped, "thanks. You guys can either go or stay to watch, I'm going to implement that idea I had to distract the Inuzuka dogs," at that all the cheetahs who had laid down got back up and after biding the blond child goodbye they vanished in a puff of smoke.

Etsuyo stared up at him from her prone position before she too rose before she glanced over at the two Jounin as she said, "we'll check up on you tomorrow, Naru-Chan. After all if we didn't keep an eye on you, you're mother would kill us, skin us and feed our carcasses to her snakes." At that all three watchers goggled at the cheetah who had merely nodded a goodbye to the two Jounin along with a chirped, "later 'Kashi-Chan, Gai-Kun!" Then she too vanished in a puff of smoke, after she disappeared, Neji's eyebrows returned from their spots high on his forehead, apparently the younger boys mother had a contract with the cheetahs. Gai and Kakashi shook themselves out of their stunned stupor they had fallen into when Etsuyo had dropped that bombshell on them, as they did so Naruto took out several cans of cheese spread and jars of peanut butter.

Neji stared at the two foods as he wondered what the other boy was going to do with them, in light of the resigned expressions on the cheetah clones faces, he had a feeling that whatever it was it wouldn't be comfortable for the large cats. He found out how right he was a few moments later when Naruto began to smear the two different foods all over the fur of the cats. After all nine cats were completely covered Naruto looked down and said, "alright! Stage two is finished, time to implement stage three," the nine cats sighed before they henged into ordinary cats before they made their way to the Inuzuka compound.

The wind carried the scent of the nine cats, peanut butter and cheese into the compound, after several minutes Kuromaru raised his head and sniffed the air quizzically before he asked, "do you guys smell that?" The other three dogs raised their heads and sniffed the air before they nodded to indicate that they too smelled the tantalizing scent on the air.

Hana and Tsume stepped outside when they heard the anxious whining coming from their Ninken, Tsume frowned as she knelt down beside Kuromaru as she asked, "what is it, Kuromaru?"

He whined as he sniffed the air before he said, "something smells so good!" As he spoke he stood up and pranced in place, he was facing the nine henged cheetahs and didn't even know it. After several moments of prancing, Kuromaru was quivering in restraint as he kept scenting the air to take in more of the divine smell beside him were the triplets, who were doing the same thing. Hana and Tsume exchanged puzzled glances, as they did Kuromaru suddenly said, "I can't take it anymore! I have to find it!" With that the eye patch wearing dog took off with a loud barking howl, he was swiftly followed by not only the triplets but also by Hana and Tsume.

As the dogs reached the area where the cats laid in wait, the nine allowed the four dogs to catch sight of them before they took off in different directions. Hana and Tsume saw the nine cats head in four different directions, two groups of them had three members, while one had two member and the last had only a single cat which headed straight for the academy. The triplets headed in three different directions, two followed the groups of three and the other took on the two cat group, Kuromaru took after the lone cat, both women groaned before Tsume raced after her partner while Hana chased after one of hers.

Naruto grinned as he rubbed his hands together and said gleefully, "perfect, that ought to keep them occupied for a while. Kiba is busy training with Akumaru in a training ground near the Academy so he won't show up for a while and hopefully by then we'll be done here."

Gai frowned as he asked curiously, "how are we pranking them, you never answered earlier." Kakashi looked up lazily from his book when the question was posed to the blond. Unknown to the three below him, Neji leaned forward in curiosity, from what he had overheard from his cousin Hinata, Naruto and Kiba were friendly with one another so he was curious as to how the blond would prank Kiba's family.

Naruto looked over at the spandex wearing man as he pulled out three storage scrolls and handed one to each of the Jounins, as he did so he said, "well I plan to plaster pictures of cats all over their houses. As well planting some catnip on the grounds, replace all of the dog toys with cat toys," as he said each thing he ticked them off on his hand.

Naruto then opened his storage scroll and quickly began putting posters all over the houses, Gai looked over at Kakashi who shrugged but followed Naruto's lead by planting catnip. The green clad ninja sighed but began to place the cat statues all over the compound, Neji watched in bemusement as his formidable sensei followed the directions of a pre-Genin. The trio were finished in twenty minutes, just in time to go watch the reactions to their first prank, so the three headed back over to watch the fireworks.

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While, the three pranksters were completing their prank upon the Inuzuka clan, Iruka looked up at the loud booming barks that echoed in the streets. The other ninja manning the mission desk looked up in confusion at the barks that boomed throughout the streets. To everyone's shock a rather large cat covered in peanut butter and cheese raced past the entrance to the tower, it was rapidly followed by Kuromaru and Tsume, who was shouting at her Ninken. "Damn it Kuromaru, slow down! I don't care how good that cat smells! Stop chasing it," she shouted as she ran after her partner, the ninja turning in their reports stared in shock at the scene.

Izumo was surprised when Iruka groaned and muttered to himself, "I bet Naruto's behind this, I just know it…although I wonder where he got the cat from…" The Chuunin stared out the doors sightlessly as he pondered the strange sight, he was startled by the sight of one of Hana's three Ninken racing after a pair of cats covered in the same mixture that the first one they had seen. At that sight Iruka again groaned before he decided to ignore the vision of four dogs chasing cats that were covered in a mixture of peanut butter and cheese, it was a sight that apparently few of his fellow Shinobi couldn't ignore.

The Hokage looked down out his office window and blinked at the sight of the two Inuzuka women chasing after their Ninken who in turn were chasing after nine cats. He shook his head as he muttered, "sometime that boy reminds me too much of his mother with his pranks and his bold declarations about becoming Hokage." The ANBU in the room pointedly ignored the odd muttering of the Hokage since all three had known Kushina and knew just how much her son took after her in the art of pranks. So much so that they had just begun to consider his love of pranks to be an inherited trait from his mother, though they did wonder just where in the hell did he get his love of orange from. Although for the last two years it was almost as if Kushina herself had been giving her young son ideas for his pranks. It was as if he had heard her telling him about a prank she had pulled before he put his own little spin on her old pranks.

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While Iruka, the Hokage and the ANBU valiantly ignored the cats being chased by the Inuzuka Ninken, the civilians of Konoha gaped at a building that had a rather bright sign on it that declared it to be the headquarters of the ANBU. Otter stared at the sign from his perch atop an adjacent rooftop as he stared at the sign he remembered the odd words that he'd caught from Ryuu-San that night he met her. As far as he could recall she had muttered, 'I wonder if my son has pranked my fellow ANBU yet,' he had thought the words that she used to be a bit odd but not noteworthy. Now he wondered if he should have mentioned them to Morino-Sama when he had asked about the night that he met her, having thought that he made a mental note to ask Morino-Sama, Yamanaka-Sama or Nara-Sama about just who Ryuu-Sama's son is.

On another rooftop Naruto had barely been able to hold back his maniacal laughter from escaping his throat, Kakashi was biting his lower lip, although you could hardly tell with his mask in the way. He too was fighting back laughter caused my the looks of shock on the civilians faces at the sight of the now obvious building as well as the rather bright uniforms that the ANBU were wearing. Gai watched with interest as both the civilians and Shinobi gawked at the now colorfully advertised building, as he watched he said in an offhand tone, "I don't think Ibiki-San is going to appreciate how well we've advertised his building."

At that both Kakashi and Naruto snickered before the young blond said cheerfully, "maybe, maybe not, but I like it!" However, Naruto's jubilation is cut short when Anko noticed the three's prescence on the rooftop and she immediately realized that a certain blond had again pulled a prank on the ANBU. She growled for a moment before she began making her way to the rooftop where the three were watching the chaos unfolding below them, Naruto paled before he said, "yikes! It's the crazy snake lady! Time to scatter!" With that Naruto leapt off the rooftop and raced through the alleyways, Kakashi and Gai also leapt off the rooftop before taking different routes through the village. Naruto used a route that passed several shops that sold sake and dango before he ducked into the Uchiha compound then into an older building, he heard Anko run past the compound.

As he sighed in relief he heard as a familiar voice asked, "you pranked the ANBU again didn't you?" Naruto jumped before he whirled around, he gave a sigh of relief when he saw Sasuke standing behind him with a bemused expression. He then gave the black eyed boy behind him a playful glare before he flashed a grin at him and nodded in answer, Sasuke shook his head as he said, "only you would think it wise to do that." Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as Sasuke reached down and tugged the younger boy up as he commented, "come on, I'll let you hide out at my place for a while." Both boys then headed for Sasuke's house, they playfully argued the entire way about the wisdom of Naruto's pranks on the highly ranked Shinobi of Konoha.

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Naruto finished his tale with a flourish and sat back smugly as he watched his Ryuu-Okasan laughing as she imagined the looks on the civilian's faces at the cat-dog-human chase along with having the ANBU headquarters announced via a painted sign.

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While Naruto was telling the tale of his pranks, Genma and Raido listened as Izumo told them all about Naruto's prank on the Inuzuka, Hyuga and the ANBU. Although no one had yet to tell the Hyuga clan elders about the seals on their formal robes that caused various saying to appear above their heads. Genma shook his head after he heard about the pranks and said, "he is certainly his mother's son!" At that the senbon user leaned back in his seat as he grinned from around his habitual senbon before he commented, "I wonder where he caught the cats from though..."

Raido and Izumo shook their heads before the scarred man slapped Genma on the shoulder as he said, "we may never know. Come on, we have a mission in the morning so we better head home," the senbon user sighed before he got up and waved goodbye to the other man as Raido walked out of the bar.

Genma flashed a grin at his partner before be said as he slapped the scarred man beside him on the shoulder, "race you!" With that he used chakra to enhance his speed, Raido gaped after his quickly fleeing partner for a few moments before he softly cursed and ran after him.

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Iruka watched as Naruto devoured yet another bowl of Miso Ramen, he had decided to buy the young blond three bowls of his favorite ramen as a treat for getting a particular taijutsu move right. Mizuki had fallen ill and hadn't been able to teach so Iruka had taken over his classes for the day, as Naruto finished eating his third bowl Iruka suggested, "how about I teach you a few moves that go with the move you just learned?"

Naruto swallowed the last of the noodles before he glomped the scarred Chuunin with an enthusiastic, "of course Iruka-Sensei!" The tanned man merely laughed and after he finished his own ramen he led Naruto to a training ground. Unknown to the pair a certain silver haired Jounin was hiding was hiding in tree to avoid a challenged from Gai as well as reading his favorite book. Upon noticing his favorite Chuunin as well as his sensei's son, Kakashi closed the orange book in favor of watching the pair below him, he watched as the scarred man led Naruto through a taijutsu move.

After Naruto had run thorough the move several time to Iruka's satisfaction, the teacher stood back and watched as Naruto began to adapt the new move to his personal fighting style. As Naruto began to work out how to use the move in his own move set, Kakashi shook his head over how much the young blonds fighting style resembled his mothers. He knew if anyone who had ever fought Kushina ever came across Naruto fighting and heard his name, they would no doubt spread the word that Kushina Uzumaki, the Crimson Blade of Konoha, had a son before she died.

The silver haired man watched in amusement as a laughing Iruka got tackled by a grateful blond who shouted, "thank you Iruka-Sensei!"

Iruka hugged the eleven year old back before he ruffled the boys blond locks as he said, "you're welcome Naruto." He then tapped the whiskered blond on the nose, "what do you say that I treat you to some homemade dango," he teasingly asked as he sat up from his prone position on the ground.

At that Naruto's blue eyes lit up, when Flacon would watch over him, she would sometime share her dango with him, Naruto had fairly good relationships with his ANBU guards. Among his favorites were Falcon, Dolphin, Hound, Crow, Boar and Raven, on occasion Badger would check up on him but not too often, when Badger did visit the other ANBU would often leave the pair alone. Once Badger came over to relieve the ANBU that was sent on an urgent mission when Naruto was sick, upon seeing the miserable blond Badger had decided to cheer him up by bringing the young boy to this office since he had quite a bit of paperwork to take care of still.

Crow was gone now, having been labeled a missing nin, while Hound had been forced into semi-retirement, the same thing had happened to Dolphin, Boar and Raven. He was still being looked after on occasion, however Badger had told him that if he graduated from the academy the guard assigned to him would be removed. After all, a ninja has to be able to protect not only themselves but also their teammates and their clients, besides the ANBU wouldn't have been able to follow him on missions anyway.

Naruto watched with interest as Iruka began making the dango, after the dango had been made the tanned man set a plate of them in front of the blond boy. After all the dango was eaten, Iruka walked Naruto back to his apartment, the pair was shadowed the whole way by both the cheetahs and a certain silver haired pervert. Once they reached the blonds apartment Iruka tucked the yawning boy into bed after he made sure that Naruto was asleep he started to tidy up the living room. As he did he noticed the scroll on sealing techniques to make your own storage scrolls lying on the coffee table, he picked up the scroll and frowned in puzzlement, the mark on the scroll indicated that Kushina Uzumaki had wrote it. As he stared down at the scroll he wondered how Naruto had gotten his hands on it, finally he shrugged before he placed it back down, he then entered the kitchen to check on his adopted brothers groceries.

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While Naruto and Iruka were eating ramen, inside of Hogwarts Lily and Coyote were in the red haired woman's rooms, Lilynette was off bothering Ulquiorra and Renji for the first half of the Yule Holidays. While Lily was grading some essays from her second year classes, the dark haired Arrancar was massaging her feet and up her calves, when he first stared to give her foot massages she'd raised an eyebrow in askance. "Standing on stone floors for most of the day will hurt your feet, hips and back, I just figured I'd relieve some of the pain your job causes you," he had murmured as he massaged some of the tension out of her lower legs.

As she finished grading the last paper she let out a happy sigh before she murmured, "I'll happily pay you to do this for the rest of my life."

Coyote chuckled as he locked eyes with his green eyed witch as he said, "luckily for you, you'll never have to pay me with money nor share my services with anyone else."

She lifted her left index finger into the air lazily as she said, "point," after several more moments of the massage she pulled her legs away from his hands that were, in her opinion, absolutely divine. After she pulled away from him Coyote pouted slightly, as he sulked she smiled down at him before she said gently, "Coyote, we mustn't be late for our reservation."

The brown haired man got up and reluctantly walked over to the mirror on the wall before he said, "kick about, los lobos." With those words the mirror vanished and he stepped through to his quarters to dress in the appropriate attire for their reservation at the restaurant. His bags as well as Lily's had already been taken to where they would be staying for the first part of the holiday while Lilynette stayed with Tessai and the Visoreds. Within moments Coyote had changed to wear tailored slacks, a dark blue silk tunic, black dress shoes and had pulled back his hair with a wolf head clip that Lily had given him, after a glance into a mirror to make sure he looked alright he walked back into Lily's rooms.

He stopped dead in his tracks in stunned shock when he caught sight of Lily in a stunning cobalt blue dress, her red hair was in curls and slightly pulled back from her face, she was also wearing a light red lipstick. After several moments of staring at her, he murmured, "you look absolutely stunning," his grey eyes were smoldering as he stared into her emerald eyes.

Her lips curved into a smile as she make a show of looking him up and down before her tongue had darted out to moisten her lips. As her eyes darkened she murmured in a husky voice, "you look gorgeous yourself." After a moment she held out her hand to him as she said, "lets go, the portkey will activate soon," she tapped the sapphire necklace that hung around her neck. He smiled lazily down at her before he wrapped his right arm around her waist, a few moments later both felt the familiar tug of the portkey behind their navels.

The pair arrived in an opulent room, where a young man bowed to them and murmured, "please follow me." He led them to a table set for two and said, "my name is Juan," he watched as Coyote pulled out Lily's chair for her and waited for her to be fully seated before he sat down himself. Juan handed both of them a menu before he asked, "what can I bring you to drink while you're deciding what you want to eat?"

At that Coyote looked at Lily and indicated that she could choose the drink, after several minutes of looking at the wine choices as well as the appetizer menu she said, "we'll have a bottle of Ice wine and some toasted cheese ravioli." Juan nodded as he jotted down the order before he slipped away from the table to get the wine bottle as well as give the chef the order. Several minutes later Juan returned with the bottle of wine, he set two chilled glasses on the table, both the glasses and bottle were charmed to stay at the perfect temperature. Juan then poured the wine into the glasses until it reached halfway up the glass, after he poured the wine he gave them a small bow before he departed again.

When Juan reappeared he was carrying a single plate with twenty-four raviolis on it, the ravioli's were fried and covered in parmesan cheese, he also set down a bowl of Marinara sauce beside the plate as well as a pair of forks. After he placed the food down he asked quietly, "are you ready to order or do you need more time," at that Lily cocked her left eyebrow at the brown haired Arrancar in askance.

Coyote closed the menu before he said, "I'll have the Fillet Mignon with the mushroom-wine sauce as well as whatever drink the chef believes is appropriate for the dish." After he ordered he handed the menu to Juan then glanced over at Lily expectantly, she was glancing through her menu.

After a few moments she closed the menu and as she handed it over to Juan she said, "I'll have some pan-fried Salmon with cream cheese pesto."

Juan nodded as he took the menu's from them and he wrote down their orders as he asked Lily, "and what would you like to drink with your dish, miss?"

Lily speared a ravioli with her fork and as she dipped it into the sauce she said, "whatever wine the chef thinks would be best with it." Juan nodded as he wrote down the wine order before he left to place the order and have the chef choose the wine for each dish. While their entrees were being cooked Lily asked Coyote curiously, "how did you learn to dance? From what Sirius and Ichigo have told me this Aizen person didn't sound like someone would be concerned with how well his servants could dance."

Coyote swallowed his mouthful before he quietly huffed a laugh, he then said, "no, Aizen had no concern to teach us such things as dancing." He shrugged as he speared another ravioli before he said while dipping it, "I just seem to know, it's almost eerie how instinctive it is for me."

Lily blinked at that before she took a sip of her Ice wine, she then said casually, "I heard from Kushina that Grimmjow seems to instinctively know how to cook Maybe your skill with dancing is similar to his skill with cooking," she suggested in an offhand tone before she ate another ravioli.

Coyote gave her a slight nod as he murmured softly, "perhaps…" He gave her a sly smile as he purred, "is that a hint that you wish to dance after we dine," he canted his head to the right as he asked.

She allowed her eyelids to drop to half-mast as she huskily purred out, "maybe…"

After they finished the toasted ravioli, Juan returned with two decanters of wine as well as two plates, he set one in front of Lily and the other in front of Coyote, he then poured each a glass of wine. Lily murmured appreciatively as she gazed at her salmon, Coyote also hummed appreciatively as he looked down at his meal. Juan bowed to the pair before he quietly slipped away from the pair who had begun eating after he had left, once they had finished their meals the pair stepped out onto the dance floor.

Once they had danced for few hours they returned to their table, moments after they returned Juan reappeared and asked, "do you wish to have dessert or would you like your check delivered?"

Lily glanced curiously at her grey-eyed Arrancar, Coyote smiled slightly before he said, "I could eat," he then caught her gaze before he asked, "what would you suggest for dessert?"

At that the red haired woman turned to Juan and said with a small smile, "we'll take large cup of the chocolate rum dessert along with a glass of peach brandy." Juan nodded as he jotted down the order before he headed to the kitchen to place it, he quickly returned with a large single cup and two spoons. He set the glass down between the pair with a spoon in front of each, he also had a pair of crystal glasses with the peach brandy in them. As he placed the brandy in front of them he murmured, "I'll bring you your check in a moment," with that he moved away to retrieve the bill. When he returned Lily paid the bill before she and Coyote finished off the creamy dessert before they stood up to leave, Lily took his hand before she activated the second portkey.

It quickly took them to their second destination, Kushina had loaned the pair a villa in one of the many Greek villages on her island, she had ordered her elves to make sure that the pair returned to Hogwarts completely relaxed. The elves of the island took to the order with great enthusiasm, the pair were secluded in a seaside villa, Lily had told her niece that she had loved going to the beach as a child. Thus the reason that Kushina had told the eager elves to place them in a seaside villa instead of one of the more opulent interior villas.

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Four days before Lily and Coyote's date, Kisame and Itachi had made their way south west through the land of Lightning, they then snuck through the Land of Fire. Two days before they reached the Former Land of Whirlpools, they had decided to stop at an out of the way hideout that no one in Akatsuki, nor any of the Uchiha clan knew about.

After they checked it over to insure that no one had discovered it while they were gone the two men went inside, Kisame shed his cloak and hung it on the back of the door. Itachi did the same before he turned his gaze upon his partner, Kisame had moved further into the three room hideout and had laid down on the couch. Kisame wasn't wearing a shirt, he had a pair of dark pants on with a stomach guard, he was wearing his usual leg warmers but he had kicked off his sandals earlier. The black eyed teenager smiled at the sight of his Shark finally relaxing, Kisame had leaned Samaheda up against the wall before he rested on the couch. As he passed the sword he heard as it murmured in his mind, although he couldn't hear anything coherent like Kisame could, he could still hear a faint murmur, it was actually comforting to hear since it meant that either Kisame was nearby or had left the sword behind, which of course meant that Kisame wouldn't be gone for very long.

After he brushed his right hand over the cloth covering the blade, Itachi made his way over to the blue skinned man, Kisame opened a single eye to look up at the looming teenager before his lips quirked up in to a small smile. As he reached up to pull his lover down onto the couch beside him Kisame thought to himself, 'sometimes it's hard to believe that I'm your elder by nine years and not the other way around.' Itachi willingly allowed himself to be pulled down by the older ninja, he rested his head over the blue haired man's heart, as he listened to it's rhythmic beat he felt the pale eyed man run his purple tipped fingers through his shoulder length bangs. After several moments of running his fingers through the onyx hair of his companion, the sharp toothed man asked, "what's worrying you so much?"

Itachi closed his eyes as he clutched Kisame's shirt in his left hand before he said, "Sasuke. I hope he's alright and training well," at that quiet murmur the dark haired teen nuzzled further into the hard chest under his right cheek. Kisame moved his left hand down to gently rub Itachi's back as well as running the fingers of his right hand though the shoulder length bangs that framed his lovers face.

After several moments of this Kisame finally said softly, "stop worrying so much. I know he's your baby brother but I highly doubt that Konoha would allow anything to happen to the last Uchiha in the village. Not to mention that your entire clan is safe so long as the rest of the Elemental countries remains entirely unaware that they are still alive." With that Kisame sat up, bringing Itachi with him, the black eyed teen looked up at him in confusion before Kisame leered slightly as he said, "lets see if I can take your mind off of your family for a while. After all, I'm going to have to behave myself while we visit them," he said teasingly as he got up from the couch and pulled the unresisting Uchiha to the bedroom.

As his lover pulled him into the bedroom with a rather predatory leer, Itachi commented slyly, "I highly doubt that my family and Clan are entirely unaware of the fact that we are sleeping together." At that Kisame stared at his chosen mate before he blushed, which due to the hue of his complexion was a purple tone instead of red.

Kisame huffed before he muttered as he dropped Itachi's wrist and stalked into the bedroom, "it's the principle of the thing. I'm not going to touch you anymore intimately than kisses and cuddles as long as we stay under your parents roof." To Itachi's amusement he overheard as Kisame grumbled to himself, "it was bad enough looking them in the eye and knowing that I had sex with their fifteen year old son. I don't want to have breakfast with them after we've had sex the night before," Itachi bit his lower lip to keep his snickers at bay.

When he looked up to comment that his father was in denial about how intimate their relationship was and his mother was just happy he'd found someone, however before he could even get a syllable out, the words got stuck in his throat as he saw that Kisame had stripped while he had grumbled to himself. Itachi watched as the taut muscles flexed under his lovers blue-grey skin, after several moments of watching him Itachi stalked over to his mate as he began stripping off his own clothes along the way. The movement caught Kisame's attention, he watched in stunned lust as the black haired man stalked toward him, taking off his clothes. The first thing to be removed was the sash around his waist then came his blue v-necked shirt, next to come off his mesh shirt which was swiftly followed by his pants and legwarmers. He then crawled up the bed, as he did he reached up and removed his forehead protector, as the dark haired man hovered over the former mist nin, Kisame reached up and pulled the hair tie out of the dark locks. He then tangled his fingers of his right hand into them as he did he pulled the raven haired man down for a slow through kiss.

Itachi pulled back from the kiss until his lips were barely touching Kisame's and when his lover whined in frustration, the black eyed teen laughed lowly before he purred, "so eager for my kiss. We have five days alone, my lovely shark," as he leaned down slowly he said with lust dripping from every word, "I'm all yours for five whole days." Kisame gave a nervous chuckle at the gleam in his lovers eyes and the strange thought of 'why do I feel like he's the one who's got predatory instincts instead of me.'

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While Itachi and Kisame had reached their hidden hideout, Masaki wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as she got up off the floor in front of the toilet. She then flushed the toilet of it's contents before she went over to the sink to rinse out her mouth. After she rinsed out her mouth she stared into the mirror above the sink as she did she muttered, "I'm glad Fukaku isn't home or he'd be dragging me to go see the medic nin."

She didn't need to go see a medic to suspect that she was pregnant for the third time, as she walked to the kitchen she idly wondered what Itachi would think if she was. She chuckled as she remembered how wide eyed he had been when she had been pregnant with Sasuke, as the months had passed and her stomach got larger, he hadn't been able to stop himself from asking questions of her.

Later that night after they had eaten dinner Mikoto asked, "do you think Itachi-Chan and Kisame-Kun will like the surprise we have for them?"

Fukaku snorted lightly before he said, "they'd better, it was getting a little odd to have the pair of them to be staying with us." He caught her gaze before he joked, "after all aren't kids supposed to move out of their parents house when they've gotten married." At that Mikoto giggled while she placed one of her hands over her abdomen for a moment before she took a sip of her tea. Fukaku hadn't even noticed that his wife was drinking the tea she reserved strictly for when she was pregnant.

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On the nineteenth of December, Kushina, Ron, Hermione and Kisuke slipped inside into the Room of Requirement where Kushina made three clones, she had two of them henge into Ron and Hermione. She then placed a seal on all three clones lower backs, as she painted it onto the clones she explained, "this seal will keep them from dispelling before we get back. You two did tell Kenpachi and Rukia that these two are going to be clones, right? So no kissing or lovey dovey stuff." She paused for a moment before she leered at Hermione and said, "on second thought I almost hope Kenpachi forgets long enough to kiss the clone of you. Judging by the expression on your face after seeing him, he's one hell of a kisser," at that Hermione huffed.

"Yes we told them not to do anything beyond cuddling with us for five days, Kushina," Ron interjected before Hermione and Kushina could start playfully arguing.

Kushina sighed before she called out, "Winky," at that the female house-elf appeared before her.

Winky bowed before she asked carefully, "did you need something, Mistress 'Shina?"

Kushina smiled down at her before she said, "I need you to take the four of us to just outside the village. Alright?"

Winky beamed up at Kushina, before she said happily, "of course, Mistress 'Shina!" After she said that she gestured for the four to touch her before she popped them to the outskirts of what appeared to be a ruined village. At least it appeared to be ruined from what the three of the four could see anyway.

After Kushina thanked Winky she dismissed the house elf and then began walking toward the ruins, as she did Hermione called out, "Kushina, what are you doing? That place is nothing but ruins," she continued while looking at the red haired witch in confusion.

Kushina looked over her shoulder at the three as she said with clear amusement in her voice, "Hermione, what would a muggle see if they approached Hogwarts?"

Hermione blinked before she answered slowly, "they'd see nothing more than an old set of ruins." Kushina then raised her left eyebrow at her friend while making a 'go on' gesture, after a few minutes of though Hermione exclaimed, "you mean, the village is hidden by an illusion!"

Kushina smiled before she snapped her fingers and said while pointing at Hermione, "exactly, now lets go already." This time when she stared to approach the village they followed behind her. Hermione gripped Ron's shoulder and gestured for him to grab onto Kisuke's, at Ron's touch Kisuke glanced over his shoulder at them, Hermione motioned for him to grab hold of Kushina's shoulder and close his eyes.

He shrugged slightly but followed the suggestion, Kushina looked over her shoulder at the slight touch, she blinked in bemusement at the three people behind her. 'I feel almost like a mother goose, duck or swan with their chicks following them what with the way those three are following me,' she mentally muttered to her Zanpakuto.

She heard Thanatos snicker before Anubis said carefully, 'I guess they wanted to make sure that the genjutsu wouldn't affect them.

As she walked into the village the guards gave her odd looks at the sight of the three following her, she put a single finger up to her mouth to indicate silence from them, although they were puzzled they kept quiet. Mikoto raised an eyebrow at the sight in front of her, Kushina smirked before she silently formed a shadow clone who whispered a question to Mikoto, "can I borrow a camera?" Mikoto nodded and watched as Kushina's clone slipped inside her house to get the camera, when it came back out it immediately took a picture of the four. At the flash of light from the camera the three following Kushina opened their eyes and stared up at the clone and Mikoto, the clone dispelled after handing the camera to Mikoto.

Mikoto snickered before she waved at Kisuke and said cheerfully, "hello, Minato. How have you been lately? Still following that crazy girl of yours around?"

Kisuke cocked his head to the side in confusion before he remembered Kushina telling him on Halloween about their previous life together, his name back then had been Minato if he recalled correctly. "I've been fine, and of course I'm still following her, who else would keep her out of trouble," he called up cheerfully at her.

Mikoto blinked at the delayed response that was void of the usual nickname before she realized that Minato didn't seem to remember his old life. She finally smiled at him before she said, "that's good to hear," she smiled wryly before she joked, "I don't know Sakumo used to do a good job of getting them out of trouble once Kushina got them into it." She then turned to Hermione before she said, "I'm Mikoto Uchiha and you two must be Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley." The pair nodded at that statement, Hermione smiled hesitantly when Mikoto remarked, "Kushina has told me a lot about you, I'm looking forward to getting to know you both."

Hermione looked up at the woman who was one of Kushina's dearest friends before she said, "it's nice to meet you, Uchiha-san."

Mikoto smiled down at the brown eyed girl as she said cheerfully, "call me Mikoto, after all Kushina is your friend and any friend of Kushina's is a friend of mine." With that said she led them down the street to the house that the clan built for Kushina and any guests she brought with her to stay in while she was here. All four put their bags in their rooms, Kushina and Kisuke shared a room while the other two got their own rooms.

Later that night Mikoto slipped over to the house that Kushina was staying in and pulled her chakra in so it was almost gone before letting loose slightly. After a few moments later Kushina slipped out of the house, she sat down next to her old friend and asked, "what do you need 'Koto-Chan?"

Mikoto licked her lips before she worried her lower lip with her teeth, after a couple moments slipped by she said, "I need you to check something for me." At her friends raised eyebrow, she said, "I think I'm pregnant, but I don't want to go to the Uchiha medic-nin incase I'm not."

Kushina's lips quirked before she placed her hand over Mikoto's abdomen and sent a small thread of chakra into her friends womb. She felt a faint spark of chakra pulse back at her gentle brush of chakra, a smile curved her lips and she looked up at her before she said, "you're right. You're pregnant and don't tell anyone this yet but I think you're pregnant with twins."

At that Mikoto gaped at her before she gasped out, "twins, are you sure?"

Kushina shrugged before she said softly, "I could be wrong, but I don't think I am." She then patted Mikoto on the left shoulder as she murmured, "tell Fukaku tomorrow, if I know him he'll be ecstatic about a child." She then pointed her finger at her friend, "just remember, keep the fact that it might be twins a secret, after all we don't want to get their hopes up." Before the red haired witch walked back inside the house she said over her right shoulder, "I'll see if I can pick you up some anti-nausea potions for your morning sickness."

Mikoto smiled at her old friend before she said, "Itachi should be in the village soon. I'd like for you and your friends to come to dinner when he does."

Kushina rolled her eyes before she said, "of course, I'll come, so will Kisuke," at Mikoto's slightly confused look she clarified, "Minato." Mikoto's eyes widened in comprehension so Kushina said, "Ron and Hermione will also join us, heck Hermione will probably start asking Kisame all about Kiri." At that Mikoto laughed before she waved goodnight to her before she left back to her house.

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The next day, Hermione wandered off to ask many of the Uchiha clan about the history of their clan and the Elemental countries, Ron on the other hand had decided to bug Shisui Uchiha to teach him a few Taijutsu moves. After Hermione had grilled every Uchiha she could find, she entered the library in the middle of the village to do research on the history of the clan and the countries.

Halfway thorough the day Kushina's godson and his partner came through the gates into the village, Ron and Hermione watched in amusement as Mikoto stopped the pair from entering her and Fukaku's house. She led the pair down the street to a small house, they overheard her tell the two, "this is yours, Fukaku agreed that Itachi is a little old to be living under our roof."

Both men stared at the house in shock before her son gathered his composure and asked, "it's ours? When did you start building it?"

Mikoto smiled at her eldest son as she said, "yes, it's yours and only yours. We started building it after you left the last time you visited the village, Winky helped out by placing wards on the building." She then hugged them both before she told Itachi, "your godmother will probably come see you after she and Minato return from their excursion."

********************************************************************

Early that Kushina had convinced Kisuke to let her grow his hair out before she cut it into the same hairstyle he had used when he had been Minato Namikaze. She had then shoved a set of clothes into his hands as she said cheerfully, "dress in these please." The bundle contained the standard Konoha Jounin uniform, it had included a forehead protector that she'd gotten from one of the Uchiha's as well as a white, short-sleeved, knee length coat with a flame motif along it's bottom edge. After he had dressed in the outfit Kushina knelt down and wrapped his lower legs with white bandages, she also put a band around each of his wrists and just below both elbows.

Kisuke looked at himself in the mirror, he stared oddly at the two ear-tails framing his face, as her fiancé stared at his reflection Kushina had an amusing thought, 'if it weren't for the fact that his eyes are blue-grey and not pure blue he'd cause many to have a heart attack.' she mentally cackled at the panic that would ensue if they were seen by anyone while out and about in order to allow Kisuke to get a lay of the land as well as to set up an anchored Senkaimon. She was dressed up in her old Chuunin uniform, for once her back was covered by her sleeveless turtleneck shirt. She had bound her hair back into a braid but left it down from its usual bun, she then leaned into his shoulder and murmured into his ear, "shall we get your tour started?"

The blond man nodded before he nuzzled at the top of her head as he muttered softly, "yes, of course." At the odd tone to his voice the red haired witch looked up and noticed that his eyes were more blue than grey at the moment, however the blue quickly faded causing his eye to return to their usual tone. Before the pair left the disguised village Kushina told Mikoto where they were going and an approximate time that they would return by.

For several hours the pair wandered the area near the hidden village, they stopped in a few villages and since the pair were wearing Konoha forehead protectors they had been met with warm welcomes. The pair had helped with some problems that a few of the villages had been having, before the two left the villages, Kushina had called over her shoulder, "just send it to Konoha," when a villager had said something about a payment for their services. The villagers shrugged before they decided to send the payment for services rendered with the caravan heading to Konoha to do some trading.

The villages only jeweler remembered that the red haired woman had purchased a piece of his work for her son, she had asked if he could deliver it for her. She had laughed before she commented, "my son's name is Naruto, he looks a bit like his dad," she had pointed at her blond haired companion at that comment. She then said, "tell him that his father and I miss him very much. And that we wish him the best of luck on his upcoming academy exam," the jeweler had promised that he'd deliver her message to her son. She had bought a dragon made of gold with chips of ruby, garnet, beryl and red sapphire as scales, it was surrounded by bolts of yellow lightning.

Finally Kisuke found the perfect spot to place the anchoring stones for the Senkaimon gate, after they had placed the stones and activated them the pair had a small picnic on a cliff overlooking the ocean. As they ate the food and gazed out at the ocean, Kisuke asked, "is there a reason that you insisted that I wear this outfit? Not to mention giving me this hairstyle," he tugged lightly at his left ear-tail as he said, "don't get me wrong. I like this haircut, I'm just wondering why use this particular one," he asked as he gazed at her curiously.

As she stared at the ocean she sighed before she smiled wryly as she said, "when you were Minato Namikaze, that was the hairstyle and outfit that you used to have. At least it was the one you used after you became the fourth Hokage of Konoha, those villagers are due to head to Konoha soon for trade, they'll ask around about us. None of the villagers have been to Konoha since before you had been named as the fourth Hokage. Since I asked the jeweler to deliver that pendant and message to our son but didn't tell him our last name he'll have to ask around to find out where Naruto is." She then smirked at her beloved as she said, "after the Hokage hears the message and sees the pendant. He'll ask the villagers to describe us hence the reason I used those henges on us to make your eyes blue and my eyes grey." At that she had such a smug look on her face that Kisuke laughed for several minutes before he kissed her.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

After the pair returned back to the village Kisuke headed off to speak to Fukaku, Kushina decided to visit her godchild and his lover, she needed to interrogate this Kisame about his intentions toward Itachi anyway. She walked through the streets toward the house that the village had built for the pair of the Nukenin, as she approached the house she noticed that Itachi was lounging on the front porch. The dark haired man looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps, his eyes widened at the sight of his beloved godmother making her way toward him. She smiled at him in greeting before she called out teasingly, "hello my dear 'Tachi-Chan!"

Itachi blinked in surprise for a moment before he said, "hello again, Aunt Kushina," inwardly he was running around screaming in shock, his inner self was chanting over and over, 'I thought Mom was joking!' Outwardly however he showed few signs of being surprised, Kushina pouted slightly at such little displays of being surprised by her appearance. "You're eyes are gold now," the eighteen year old said offhand as he watched her curiously after he'd shaken the surprise of actually seeing her alive off.

At his odd comment she nodded as she sat down beside him before she said, "yeah, they are. I got my gold eyes from my papa," she knew without asking that Mikoto would have told Itachi and his partner about her coming back to life. She rolled her neck to both sides to crack the vertebra to release any tension as she commented, "so how long have you been more than partners with your shark?"

She had waited until her godson had taken a sip of his tea before she asked the question so she watched in amusement as he spat out his mouthful. He then turned to her with wide eyes as he asked, "how did you know about that? Who told you? And it's been around three years now," he added absently.

Kushina's lips twitched at the questions and raised an eyebrow at the answer to her question before she said, "the answer to both your questions is your mother. And I think your partner needs to have a chat with me about his relationship with you." As that she got up and quickly left to avoid having Itachi from doing more than simply gaping after her as she left.

She created a few shadow clones to find Kisame, a few moments later one of them dispelled leaving the knowledge of where Kisame was imprinted upon her brain, he apparently was practicing a few ninjutsus in one of the training grounds. After she reached the area she leapt up on the wall and watched as he went through his water jutsus, she was surprised when he pulled off an earth jutsu, since as far as she could recall Mist nin generally only ever learned water jutsus. Kisame was startled when he heard clapping from the wall surrounding the training area that he was using, he spun around and saw a red haired woman crouched atop the wall. Her piercing gold eyes were sparkling with mischief as she said, "I can see just why my godson likes you, Kisame Hoshigaki." At that statement his pale eyes widened since it confirmed his inner suspicions about who this woman was.

"Thank you, I think," he muttered after a few minutes of consideration and staring at her.

She smiled at that before she jumped down from her perch on the wall, as she walked toward him she cheerfully said, "however we still need to talk about your intentions toward Itachi-Chan." At that Kisame gulped as he thought to himself, 'sheesh, I thought I was finished with the parental interrogations after Mikoto-san grilled me about mine and Itachi's relationship.'

A couple of hours later Kushina had finished her inquiry into the pairs relationship, as she stood up she said, "I approve of his choice, welcome to the family, Kisame." At that the sharp toothed man gaped at her, after several moments of having him stare at her, she asked nonchalantly, "I don't suppose you'd be willing to spar with me using that sword of yours?" He blinked a bit before he nodded, she whooped before she said, "after we're done, I'll show you a few earth jutsus that I know."

He grinned at her before he reached over and picked up Samaheda, he unwrapped the blade he said, "I'd like that, I know more water based jutsus than earth based." He then cocked his head to the right as he asked curiously, "are you going to fight me using swords or without swords?"

Kushina silently summoned her zanpakuto, neither of the blades were in shikai, Kisame stared at the blades as he silently wondered how she had done that, he finally decided that she probably had them hidden in a storage seal. Unknown to the shark like nukenin his sparring partner had decided to go easy on him since he probably wasn't as durable as Kenpachi. With that thought in mind she lunged at him, the first time she blocked Samaheda using the flat of her blade and her hand against the hilt her opponent was startled by how the blade didn't seem to affect her.

Two hours later, the pair made their respective ways to the houses they were staying in to take showers, Itachi looked up from the book he was reading and saw Kisame enter the house with a grin on his face despite his drenched, tattered clothes. The dark haired teen eyed his drenched lover before he chuckled lightly as he said, "I'm glad to see that you and my godmother get along so well."

He was a bit surprised when Kisame walked over to kiss him, Kisame had murmured against his lips, "that godmother of yours is the greatest." At Itachi's curious glance the blue skinned man elaborated, "she taught me a few new jutsus." Itachi chuckled again as his lover sang the praises of one of the few woman whose good opinion and approval mattered to him. He knew that if she had taught a jutsu or more to Kisame than she'd given her approval of the relationship and she'd fight tooth and nail to let them stay together.

After that nights dinner, Mikoto cleared her throat and once everyone's attention was on her, she said, "Itachi, Kisame, I have some important news to share with you." At the curious look the two were giving her, she announced, "I'm pregnant, Kushina verified it for me, I should be giving birth anywhere from late June to early July."

Mikoto, Kushina and Fukaku were amused when Itachi repeated his actions from when Mikoto had told him that she was pregnant with Sasuke. The teenager had promptly gotten up from his seat made his way over to his mother, he then promptly enfolded her in a hug and said while smiling, "I'm going to be a big brother again." The three chuckled lightly as Mikoto ran her fingers through her son's long bangs before she nodded and kissed his left cheek.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Two days before the four were to head back to Hogwarts Kushina had talked Kisuke into helping her with a prank of epic proportions, they had left the village near dusk and traveled the ocean. She had long ago taught Kisuke how to walk on water, due to the closeness of Kumo and Kiri, those two were the villages that they were going to prank first. To Kushina's surprise neither of the villages had bothered to update their security, as they had snuck into the Mizukage's office she thought to herself, 'did no one bother to update the security of their villages since we died?' The pair left little notes all over the place, Kushina also used some of her signature prank jutsus that she planned to teach to Naruto after her and Kisuke returned to Konoha.

Along the way to Kumo the pair danced together atop the ocean under the waxing moons light, they were being watched by a group of traders heading for Konoha for the first time. The group watched the pair dancing together, the group knew that only Konoha incorporated those red and black spirals into their uniforms Although the pair were close enough to see them clearly neither of them had so much as glanced at the group. The trading caravan made notes on the pair and planned to ask around about the blond haired man as well as his red haired female companion.

After they had finished their pranks on the other villages, Kisuke asked while resting his cheek against her hair, "can we go see Naruto?"

Kushina smiled wryly against his throat as she said, "of course but if he sees you he'll recognize you as the fourth Hokage." With that he nodded in agreement so she had Dobby pop them to just outside Konoha, she then led him through the hidden tunnels and into the village. Before she led him to their sons apartment, she led him to several clans within Konoha, they had left notes on the desks of the heads of the Inuzuka, Hyuga, Nara, Aburame, Yamanaka, Nara and Sarutobi as well as on the desks of a few select individuals. Both then made their way to Naruto's apartment and slipped through the kitchen window, as Kushina poked around in the kitchen while Kisuke went into Naruto's bedroom. He knelt beside the small boy's bedside, after watching Naruto sleeping peacefully for several moment Kisuke reached out and brushed the back of his hand against his sons whiskered right cheek.

Before he stood up to leave the room he murmured softly to the sleeping child, "when I come back I promise you that I'll teach you everything I know." He then leaned down to press a gentle kiss to the blond boys forehead before he left the room and wrapped Kushina in a firm embrace, Dobby then took them back to the Uchiha village.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The trio switched places with their clones and Kushina filled the two pensives with each of the clones memories before she allowed Ron and Hermione to view them, thus allowing the pair to be convincing when speaking to other people about what happened when they were in the elemental countries. It seemed that wile Gin Ichimaru and Rangiku Masumoto were visiting Hogwarts, Cassiopeia had started blowing raspberries as well as her casual baby babble. Gin had smiled down at the five month old before he murmured, "at least you're too young to use my Haori to stand up with."

Gin then entertained everyone about Ichigo's hopes that his and Byakuya's first born would want to take over her fathers position as Head of the Kuchiki clan. This was due to the fact that after she turned six months old little Masaki had begun to babble at everyone and everything that she saw. Both Ichigo and Byakuya were amused by how she seemed to scold the members of the Kuchiki clan council whenever she caught sight of them, Ichigo was thus of the opinion that Masaki wouldn't let them get away with anything.


	21. Chapter Twenty: Pranks, Dragons and Apparition

**Chapter Twenty:** **Pranks, Dragons and Apparition**

* * *

 

Shikaku stared sleepily down at the letter in front of him, he then sighed before he muttered to himself, "seems Ibiki was right. He's going to be insufferable for days due to this," with that he arose from his seat at the desk and headed for Ibiki's office to report the note that he'd gotten. As he walked down the hallway to leave his house he reread the note,

' **Dear 'Kaku-Chan,**

**I'm glad to see that you are well as well as your wife and son. Did you know that Kiri, Kumo, Iwa, Suna and Takiga are really very under defended? I mean only Ame had given us any challenge at all, whoever took over the country has done a darn good job! I hope my son hasn't been giving you too much trouble but someone had to take my place when I left.**

**See you later,**

**Your old friend and teacher,**

**Kushina Uzumaki**

**A.K.A. The Crimson Blade of Konoha**

**A.K.A. The Red Dragon of Konoha**

**A.K.A. Partner of the White Fang,'** as he read that he shook his head before he muttered aloud **.** "If this isn't Kushina-Sensei then they are really weird for helping us like this…"

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Inochi stared down at the notes on his desk and idly wondered just how and who had placed them on his desk, in a way he hoped that they were from who they were both signed by. However, that was impossible since the pair had been dead for more than eleven years now, not to mention that if they had been written by them then how did they know that his daughter was a fan girl of the Uchiha boy… He then read the notes again,

' **Dear 'Nochi-Kun,**

**I cannot believe your daughter is a FAN GIRL! I never thought I'd ever see the day that a Yamanaka would even contemplate being a fan girl, Mikoto would find this absolutely hilarious! Well at least she's not crushing on my son, I don't think it'd be a good idea for our kids to get together, I mean could you imagine the kids they'd have. The Yamamaka clan mind tricks with his traits to play pranks, I don't think any of the elemental countries would survive that! Remember Inochi, things are not always as they seem. And sometimes what you think is the last of something isn't always the last. Look under the underneath to see the real truth of things, my little 'Nochi-Kun.**

**See you later,**

**Your old friend and teacher,**

**Kushina Uzumaki**

**A.K.A. The Crimson Blade of Konoha**

**A.K.A. The Red Dragon of Konoha**

**A.K.A. Partner of the White Fang**

**Dear Inochi Yamanaka-san,**

**I'm glad that you are doing so well for yourself, your daughter is quite lovely and I see she takes after you a bit. However I agree with my beloved Dragon and thank the heavens that she has not become interested in our son since it would probably cause all of the elemental countries to have a collective panic attack. Despite the years I've been dead I'm still proud to have sacrificed my life to save this village but I'm also extremely disappointed and disgusted that my final wishes were never abided by.**

**Sincerely,**

**The Yondaime Hokage,**

**Minato Namikaze**

**A.K.A. The Yellow Flash of Konoha.'** Inwardly Inochi twitched at the comments about his daughter though he agreed, he was very grateful that his daughter showed no interest in Kushina-Sensei's son. As he had taken the letters to Ibiki's office he inwardly wondered just what she had meant when she had written, _'things are not always as they seem. And just because you think something is the last of something doesn't mean it always is. Look underneath the underneath, my little 'Nochi-Kun.'_

* * *

 

Ibiki twitched as he spotted yet another pair of notes that lay innocently on his desk when he came into his office to do his large pile of paperwork, after he checked both notes for poisons and traps he read them. ' **Dear 'Biki-Chan,**

**You still need to improve the security of the village but it's a lot better than the security of the villages of Kumo, Kiri, Iwa, Suna and Takiga. Ame had really stepped up their security since the last time I visited them before I died but I could still sneak in. On the other hand ours has seem to have improved…just how did you get that past the villages trio of idiots. On a more serious note, if I can ever come back permanently then a few select people in this village is going to feel my wrath for the treatment of my son.**

**See you again someday,**

**Your old friend and teacher,**

**Kushina Uzumaki**

**A.K.A. The Crimson Blade of Konoha**

**A.K.A. The Red Dragon of Konoha**

**A.K.A. Partner of the White Fang.**

**Dear Ibiki Morino-san,**

**Ditto what my wife said concerning our son, I had only asked one thing upon my death and that was that my son be treated like the hero he is. By the way whose brilliant idea was it to make my little scarecrow a ANBU operative? I just want to know so I can smack them upside the head for it.**

**Sincerely,**

**The Yondaime Hokage,**

**Minato Namikaze**

**A.K.A. The Yellow Flash of Konoha**

**P.S. the day that the idiotic trio can get one over on you or my wife is a cold day in hell.'**

He snorted in amusement at the not so carefully veiled insults to the village council while the other poked blatant fun at the same people. However, he twitched in wary anticipation at the end of both of the notes, it did not bode well if the pair could manage it. Then again, they had managed to do this and if he knew one thing for certain it was that those two were the most stubborn people he had ever come across.

Kakashi stared at his bookcases of Icha Icha novels and twitched in annoyance as he noticed that several copies of his newest books were missing. Of course when he'd noticed the four notes on his nightstand when he had woken up in the morning, he'd promptly panicked since the notes hadn't been there when he'd gone to bed the previous night. Of course after he had read them he wondered just how four dead people had managed to write him letters that contained recent information. He then looked down and read the four letters again this time he read them aloud,

" _Dear 'Kashi-Chan,_ " he frowned at how she still used that nickname for him even after all this time before he muttered, "you'll never change will you, 'Shina-Okasan?" He then shook his head before he continued to read the letter aloud, his dogs lying at his feet listening in amusement, " _First things first, WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING BECOMING AN ANBU AT YOUR AGE!_ " At that Kakashi pouted before he muttered, "I wasn't that young…" He then sniffed in mock outrage when his dogs snickered before he continued this time without interrupting himself, " _I get that you lost me and Minato but you still had Naru-Chan, I thank you for looking after him as an ANBU guard but who was there to tell him about the two of us? Who told him about his father had an insanely huge crush on his mother, how his father had once been dead-last but became the Hokage? Who could tell him about how his mother was the only Chuunin who had been partnered exclusively with a single Jounin? Alright, rant about my son over, on to more important things._ "

At that the dogs boggled before Pakkun muttered to himself, "that certainly sounds like Kushina-San from what I can recall…"

Kakashi pointedly ignored the small pug as he said while reading the letter, " _By the way your female form is quite cute, and the crush you have on that dolphin of yours is endearing. Good luck catching that former prankster, little Scarecrow. Or should I call you Little Hound?_

_Your Father's old Partner,_

_Kushina Uzumaki,_

_A.K.A. The Crimson Blade of Konoha_

_A.K.A. The Red Dragon of Konoha_

_A.K.A. Partner of the White Fang._ " He then looked down at his dogs before he said, "should I be worried that she somehow managed to see my Oiroke form or should I be more worried about how excited she is that I like Iruka-Chan so much?" At that the dogs shrugged so Kakashi merely continued by reading the post script that she had left, " _P.S. I hope you don't mind that I borrowed a few copies of Icha Ichi since you do have copies of mine and I can't exactly get the newest volumes where I'm at. Thanks! By the way I promise not to write in the margins._ " He then sighed before he muttered to himself, "oh well, at least my beloved Icha Icha is going to someone who will take good care of them…"

Bull huffed a laugh at that before he fell silent so that the rest of Kakashi Ninken could listen in on the next letter. Kakashi frowned at the beginning name that his Sensei had used, " _To my little Kakashi_ ," Kakashi huffed before he muttered, "I'm not little anymore, Minato-Sensei…" The silver haired Jounin continued to mutter incoherently for several minutes before he continued on with the letter, " _I think you heard enough from Kushina about being an ANBU so I won't get onto you for that nor will I tell you off for not being there for our son by being his ANBU guard instead. However, when Naruto graduates I fully expect you to start teaching him a few things, even if he isn't your student you were once mine, teach him a few tricks that his mother showed you._ " At that Kakashi boggled at the letter before he muttered, "as if I'd do anything else!" After he had glared at the paper for several moments in annoyance he once again began to read the letter, " _I never thought I'd see the day when the aloof Scarecrow would be crushing on my wife's little pranking partner. Good luck with that chase, 'cause your going to need all the luck you can get._

_Your Sensei,_

_Minato Namikaze_

_A.K.A. The Yondaime Hokage_

_A.K.A. The Yellow Flash of Konoha,_ " the silver haired man stared down at his sensei's letter in mild bemusement. He couldn't believe that his sensei just told him good luck in catching a Chuunin in a romantic chase, for heavens sake Kushina-Okasan had done most of the chasing between those two.

He then read the letter from an old medic-nin friend first, he smiled fondly at the familiar address as he read the letter aloud, " _Dear Kakashi-Kun,"_ he snorted before he muttered, "same old Rin." He then shook his head before he continued, " _I was glad to hear you were well from Kushina-San and Minato-Sensei, although Obito has told me what you've been up to lately it was nice to hear more things from other peoples perspective._ " He goggled at that before he said in disbelief, "how could Obito keep you up to date on what I'm doing?" He shook his head before he continued, " _Obito and I have been well as you can be when you're dead. All I can say is to stop mourning us and teach any girl you get how to use medical jutsus after all you never know when you might need those type of skills. Do that for me, please._

_Take care of yourself and don't let yourself get exhausted by overusing Obito's eye._

_Love your old teem-mate and Friend,_

_Rin._ " Kakashi shook his head again over how much Rin being dead hadn't changed much even with her being dead for ten years at the time of this letter.

He then turned his attention to the letter from the original owner of his Sharingan eye, he snorted at the way that Obito addressed him. " _Kakashi-Teme,_ " the dogs spread at Kakashi's feet snickered at what Obito had called their master, Kakashi glared down at them playfully before he continued, " _You've earned quite a reputation thanks to that eye of mine, I'm proud of what you've accomplished with it._ " He stared down at the letter before he said sardonically "gee thanks Obito that's what I've always wanted. Your approval of my actions," he shook his head over the general flakiness of his old teammate. " _Naruto-Chan seems to be cool for a kid but then again he is Minato-Sensei's son so that's to be expected. You look pretty as a girl you know, but enough of that! Tell my cousin about me, maybe it'll be amusing for your students to know how you got that eye of mine._

_Later,_

_Obito Uchiha, Coolest Uchiha of All Time!_ "

Kakashi had shaken his head over how Obito had signed his letter before he silently wondered just how the four of them had known that the Hokage had ordered him to at least test a group of Genin each time they graduated the academy. The Hokage had told him that he didn't care whether or not they passed Kakashi's test he still had to test them. Kakashi knew that when Sasuke passed his academy exam the Uchiha would be placed upon his team since he was the only one who could teach the boy how to use his Sharingan when it activated. He then promised himself that he'd fulfill Obito's and Rin's demands if Sasuke's team passed his test, he'd tell Sasuke all about Obito even if he didn't pass the test. After all he owed Obito far too many times to even think about refusing such a small request from the ever cheerful Uchiha.

He then folded the notes back up and placed them into his favorite Icha Icha novel before he replaced the book on the shelf, he then pulled out a far more battered copy of the same novel. He then rubbed the back of his head before he walked out of his house, "watch the house you guys, I shouldn't need you but you never know," he called back over his shoulder at his Ninken.

He then leapt over the garden wall, he walked down the street while he read one of his many books, he had looked up from his book when he had heard someone asking, a jeweler from the looks of it, "do you know where I can find a boy named Naruto?" Kakashi was surprised to find that he had wandered over to the Hokage Tower during his reading time because the person the jeweler had asked was one Iruka Umino, who upon being questioned eyed the trader warily. The trader continued his explanation since he hadn't caught the wary look in the Chuunin's eyes at his wording, "I have a pendant to deliver to him." The trader held up a rectangle red velvet box as he had said the last sentence and the tanned man relaxed slightly.

Iruka then smirked at the jeweler as he said while he filed a mission report from Genma, "if you want to find him. All you have to do is stick around, he'll be coming in soon for his punishment."

"Punishment," asked another trader curiously from his position near one of the Genin clerks.

At that Raido chuckled as he said while he handed in a report to Iruka, "Naruto is a bit of a prankster. For his latest prank the Hokage ordered him to be assigned to help the mission desk personnel with fixing the old archival files." He shrugged before he said, "you know, dusting them off, re-filing them if they need to be re-filed and of course making sure everything is still there."

Shortly after Raido answered the trader's inquiry, the blond boy in question bounced into the room and as he did most of the ninja's in the room heard as the jeweler had muttered, "he really does resemble his father." Unknown to the ninja that had heard the mutter he had been quoting Naruto's mother when she had asked the jeweler to take the pendant to her son instead of her.

"Naruto," Iruka called out, when the young blond had looked over at the scarred Chuunin, Iruka motioned for him to come over which Naruto did as the teacher bade. Iruka then ruffled the whiskered boys bangs as he said, "this man said he had a package to deliver to you." With that he canted his head toward the jeweler, who was standing patiently, Naruto glanced over at him in puzzlement.

Naruto walked over and asked curiously, "what is it that you needed to deliver to me?"

The dark eyed jeweler smiled before he showed Naruto the long thin rectangle box covered in red velvet, Naruto eyed the box curiously but didn't say anything. As he handed the box over to the curious blond boy he said, "that is what I had to deliver, the woman who ordered it asked if I could deliver it to you. She also asked me to give you a message from her and her husband when I did hand it over to you, she was most insistent that I say it exactly how she worded it…" The man looked a bit puzzled by the request that the red haired woman had made to him but he had been paid extra for the delivery and giving her son a message wasn't all that much more than handing over the box.

Everyone nearby that had known Kushina and Minato gasped at the sight of the gem encrusted dragon surrounded by bolts of lightning made of yellow diamonds. Each of the dragons scales were made of ruby, garnet, red sapphires, beryl and tourmaline while it's eyes were made of small pieces of moonstone. As Naruto and the other ninja gaped at the exquisite dragon pendant the jeweler said, "she wanted me to tell you this. _'Your father and I miss you, we also hope you're well and studying hard for your exam. Both of us wanted to wish you good luck so I had this pendant made for you so that we could be with you when you do take it. So good luck my golden sun and I love you.'_ " It was clear from the way he had enunciated it that he was repeating it verbatim to how he had heard it from the woman who had commissioned the pendant. The Hokage stared down at the pendant and idly he silently wondered how this woman could have known that Naruto was the son of the Crimson Dragon and the Yellow Flash. Meanwhile, Naruto silently wondered when his Ryuu-Okasan could have commissioned it, she had called him her golden sun once when she was visiting recently.

As the Hokage and the others turned their gazes to the jeweler in stunned shock, the jeweler wondered to himself just why they were so shocked at the message he had delivered. Ibiki, Inochi and Shikaku had stepped into the building just in time to have heard the message being delivered, the three had come to report the messages they had found just that morning to the Hokage. After several long moments the Hokage looked down at Naruto and said quietly, "Naruto, why don't you go help Iruka with those files? After all the sooner you get started the sooner you can leave for the day," the blond boy pouted at the suggestion but nodded in agreement. Iruka smiled at the young boy before he beckoned for the mischievous child to follow him and led him to the archival room.

The Sandaime then looked at the jeweler before he asked with an interested look in his eyes, "do you think you could describe the pair that had ordered the pendant?"

The jeweler then turned to him and nodded in amused agreement before he said, "of course I can. The young woman had long red hair in a braid, she had grey eyes and was almost always laughing or smiling even when she had been dealing with our bandit problem. The young man on the other hand had his hair in much the same cut as young Naruto's only he had ear tails, his hair was also the exact same shade as the boys as well as the same blue eyes." The jeweler then shook his head over how much the son resembled his father before he pointed at Kakashi and said, "the man was wearing much the same outfit that he's wearing right now. Only he had been wearing a white short-sleeved coat with flames on the bottom edge and it had the words of 'Konoha no Kiiroi Senko' written on the back of it."

At that Kakashi raised his only visible eyebrow before he said idly while he had flipped a page in his book, "Kushina-San had been the one to make Minato-Sensei all of his jackets. When she had made him the jacket that had the Yondaime Hokage written on the back she had made him one that declared him to be Konoha's Yellow Flash as well as a joke." Kakashi laughed softly as he remembered the look on his sensei's face when Kushina had presented him with the coat before he said, "however, Minato-Sensei had never worn it at all."

The Hokage turned to Kakashi and said after taking a puff from his pipe, "the pairs description does match those of Minato and Kushina. However, for it to have been them is impossible."

One of the other traders from a different village looked at him oddly before he asked, "why is it impossible? We," at that he gestured to himself and his group, "saw the pair of them just a few days ago when they passed through our village."

At that Ibiki snorted softly before he said, "because the two of them have been dead for over eleven years now, they've been dead since the night that their son was born. If the pair you all had seen really was Minato and Kushina then I'm afraid that you all saw a pair of ghosts." He then pulled out two slips of paper and as he looked down at them he said wryly, "however, it would seem a pair of ghosts dropped by to leave me a couple of notes last night."

Kakashi stared at the notes over the top edge of his book before he closed the book and put it away as he asked, "Morino-San, may I see those?" Ibiki looked at him before he snorted and handed them over to the silver haired Jounin. Kakashi had then read them over before he sighed and chuckled lightly in amusement, "it certainly sounds as if Minato-Sensei and Kushina-San had wrote these." As he held up the pair of notes he asked in idle curiosity, "who all here received a note from either Kushina Uzumaki or Minato Namikaze?"

At that question Shikaku, Inochi, Chozu, Tsume, Raido, Genma and Hiashi Hyuga all raised their hands, after they had done so Kakashi cheerfully said, "well, what do you know! Me too!" At that statement everyone in the room slapped themselves on the foreheads as they groaned in exasperation before they glared at the cheerful porn-loving, ever late, bad excuse using Jounin.

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Charlie watched in anticipation as the dragon egg rocked back and forth, Tia was watching from further back, she had been asked by the Headmaster to watch over the egg when it had arrived at Hogwarts. The Headmaster didn't want any of the students who had stayed behind during the winter holidays to get too close to the nest. The builders of the Dragon enclosure had built a few rooms to house any dragon keepers sent with the egg. Out of the two groups of rooms Tia had claimed the one of the right hand side of the enclosure while Charlie had claimed the left hand side. When the Arrancar had been asked as to why she had moved out of the castle into the enclosure she had pointed out that she'd been asked to watch over the egg and living close to the egg would help her do that. She then retorted in a scathing tone, "the day that a dragon manages to hurt me is not going to be anytime soon."

The students were watching from even farther away then Tia and the trio watched with interest as the black and purple toned egg rocked from side to side until finally the egg shell cracked. A black hatchling spilled out into the soft nest, it's large eyes looked around as it chirped before it rose from the ground to stand unsteadily on it's four legs. Tia chuckled lightly as it turned it's head toward Charlie and shrieked at him demandingly, Charlie crooned at the hatchling as he stared at it lovingly. After several shrieks Tia had finally said, "quit cooing over the baby and feed it already!" The small dragon turned to the familiar voice and chirped imploringly up at her, a few moments later Charlie set a bowl filled with cut up deer and cow hearts. He then plopped down in front of it holding the bowl before he began to hand feed the hatchling, the dragon had wrapped it's forepaws around Charlie's wrist and sucked the blood off his hand using it's tongue. Once it's belly was full it crawled into Charlie's lap and quickly fell asleep, the red haired dragon keeper ran his fingers lightly over the smooth scales covering it's food expanded stomach.

After a few minutes he carefully handed the small hatchling over to the waiting Tia before he began to give a small lecture about the hatchlings breed. "Hebridean Blacks are the only known breed to have four talons and a dew claw on all four paws. They can hunt via three methods, the first being a steep dive onto the back of their prey. This methods usually kills the prey item instantly due to the sheer force of the impact, if it doesn't kill them then the dragon will suffocate the prey." He smirked at the awe filled looks that the students directed toward the slumbering hatchling before he continued his lecture.

"Their second method of hunting is a long chase, two or more youngsters usually use this method since they're not yet big enough to use the first method. The third method that the Hebridean's use is ambush hunting, they'll lay in wait and when a prey item draws close enough they'll lunge at it. This action usually kills the prey before it even realizes that the dragon has a hold of it." Charlie's blue eyes sparkled as he lectured on his favorite subject: dragons, although he had been distracted by a certain blond haired, green eyed, tanned skinned Arrancar that had been taking up his thoughts.

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The Yondaime Kazekage stared down at the note on his desk in utter shock, he wondered dazedly just how a dead woman could berate him for turning his youngest son into a Jinchuuriki. The muscles around his left eye began to twitch at the outraged yells, yelps and screams coming in from the open window into his office from the streets below. As he listened to the shouts about swamps appearing out of nowhere he idly reconsidered his alliance with Sound and it's Kage, Orochimaru.

While Suna was panicking over the carnage that a few simple items from Weasley Wizard Wheezes had caused, A had stared down at the lengthy note he had found on his desk for several moments before he had began laughing. He had made a promise to himself that the next time he was in Konoha he'd have a drink of Sake on top of the Yondaime's carved head. As he idly placed the note away he heard as Killer B began rapping some odd lyrics, A groaned as he realized just why Namikaze had apologized in his note about A's brother and Namikaze's wife.

In Ame, a blond haired man stared down at the odd note on his desk before he muttered, "maybe I ought to rethink this whole moon idea of Madera's…" He smiled fondly down as he began rereading the note from Yahiko:

' **Dear Nagato,**

**Can I ask what the hell you've done to my organization? I mean, Nuke Nin, what is up with that? I left it in your and Konan's capable hands expecting you to keep following my wishes and you turn it into an organization that is capturing junikari to seal in a statue? Also I have one last thing to say… The moon? Really?**

**However, I'm glad that you and Konan are well and hope you stay that way, be careful what ever you do, I don't want to see the pair of you join me for many years.**

**Your old friend and teammate,**

**Yahiko'**

Onoki glared down at the two slips of paper that had been lying on his desk when he had come into the office that morning to do the dreaded nemesis of all Kage's, Paperwork. He twitched slightly at the screams of panic that was ensuing from his village and he muttered to himself, "damn that woman. I thought these ridiculous pranks were over when she died, even with her dead, we're still being pranked!"

Meanwhile at Hogwarts, Ron felt as Kushina shivered slightly before she sneezed quietly, after she had sneezed she muttered to herself, "huh, I wonder who is cursing my name."

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The snow melted from around the school as February arrived only to be replaced by cold, dreary wetness. Purplish clouds hung low over the castle and a constant fall of chilly rain made the lawn slippery and muddy. The only upshot of this was the sixth-years first apparition lesson, which was scheduled for a Saturday morning so that no normal lessons would be missed, had taken place in the Great Hall instead of on the grounds.

When Kushina and Hermione arrived in the Hall, Ron had come down earlier with Rukia, they found that the tables had disappeared. Rain lashed against the high windows and the enchanted ceiling swirled darkly above them as they assembled in front of Professors McGonagall, Snape, Sprout and Flitwick. Standing with the heads of houses was a small wizard whom Kushina took to be the apparition instructor from the Ministry. He was oddly colorless, with transparent eyelashes, wispy hair and an insubstantial air, as though a single gust of wind might blow him away. She idly wondered whether constant disappearances and reappearances had somehow diminished his substance, or whether this frail build was ideal for anyone wishing to vanish.

"Good morning," said the Ministry wizard, when all of the students had arrived and the Heads of House had called for silence. "My name is Wilkie Twycross and I shall be your Ministry-Apparition Instructor for the next twelve weeks. I hope to be able to prepare you for your apparition test in this time…"

"Parkinson, be quiet and pay attention!" Barked Professor McGonagall.

Everybody looked round. Pansy had flushed a dull pink, she had looked furious as she stepped away from a fiercely glaring Daphne Greengrass, with whom she appeared to be having a whispered argument. Kushina quickly glanced at her Uncle 'Rus, who appeared to be extremely annoyed, though Kushina strongly suspected that this was more due to Pansy's rudeness more than the fact that McGonagall had to reprimand one of his house. The glare that Severus leveled at her did not bode well for the pug-faced girl, he was not someone who liked members of his house acting, as he once sneered at a member Slytherin, like brash Gryffindors.

"…by which time, many of you may be ready to take your test," Twycross continued as though there had been no interruption. "As you may know, it is usually impossible to apparate or disapparate within Hogwarts." At that statement Ron and Hermione, who stared back at the pair, they then turned their attention back to the Professor. "The Headmaster has lifted this enchantment, purely within the Great Hall, for one hour, so as to enable you to practice. May I emphasize that you will not be able to apparate outside of the walls of this Hall, and you would be unwise to try. I would like each of you to pace yourselves now so that you have a clear five feet of space in front of you."

There was a great scrambling and jostling as people separated, banged into each other, and ordered others out of their space. The Heads of House moved among the students, marshalling them into position and breaking up arguments.

"Kushina, where are you going," asked Hermione in confusion as she had watched her friend hurry away from her.

But Kushina didn't answer, she was moving quickly through the crowd, past the place where Professor Flitwick was making squeaky attempts to position a few Ravenclaws, all of whom wanted to be near the front. Past Professor Sprout, who was chivvying the Hufflepuffs into line, until, by dodging around Ernie Macmillan, she managed to position herself right at the back of the crowd. She was directly behind Pansy, who was taking advantage of the general upheaval to continue her argument with Daphne, who was standing five feet away and looking at the other girl murderously. "Get your sister to leave my Drakypoo alone!" Pansy shot at the statuesque blond girl, oblivious to Kushina standing right behind her. "He's mine!"

Daphne opened her mouth, but Pansy turned away from her and ignored her, Daphne glared at the pug faced girl before she snarled, "you had better stay away from Astoria or else, Parkinson!" At that Pansy glared at the other girl who merely glared back at her before Pansy huffed, as she was about to turn her attention back to the front Daphne said slyly, "besides he seems to enjoy her attention."

"I agree with Daphne, it does seem as if the Silver Dragon of the Serpent house welcomes her attention over yours," Kushina said, just loud enough for Pansy to hear.

Pansy had spun around on the spot, her hand had flown to her wand but at that precise moment the four Heads of House shouted, "quiet!" And silence fell again, Pansy had turned slowly to face the front after giving Kushina a glare while Daphne had smiled at Kushina in thanks.

"Thank you," said Twycross, "now then," he waved his wand. Old-Fashioned wooden hoops instantly appeared on the floor in front of every student. "The important things to remember are the three D's," said Twycross. "Destination, Determination and Deliberation! Step one: fix your mind firmly upon the desired destination," Twycross continued. "In this case, the interior of you hoop. Kindly concentrate upon that destination now."

Everybody had glanced around furtively, to check that everyone else was staring into their hoops, then hastily did as they were told. Kushina gazed at the circular patch of dusty floor enclosed by her hoop and tried hard to think of nothing else. This proved impossible, as she couldn't stop puzzling over why she had the oddest feeling that someone, somewhere was curing her name over something. "Step two," said Twycross, "focus your determination to occupy the visualized space! Let your yearning to enter it flood from your mind into every particle of your body!"

Kushina glanced around surreptitiously, a little ways to her left Ernie Macmillan was contemplating his hoop so hard that his face had turned a bright pink. It looked as though he was order to lay a Quaffle-sized egg and was valiantly making a serious attempt at it. She had bitten back a laugh and hastily turned her attention back to her own hoop. "Step three," called Twycross, "and only when I give the command… Turn on the spot, feeling your way into nothingness, moving with deliberation. On my command, now… one-" She glanced around again; lots of people were looking positively alarmed at being asked to apparate so quickly. "- Two -" Once again she tried to fix her thoughts only on her hoop; however, she had already forgotten what the three D's stood for. "- Three!"

Kushina spun on the spot, lost her balance and almost fell over, she had caught herself at the last moment by using her chakra to cause herself to stick to one spot on the floor. The whole Hall was suddenly full of staggering people; Neville was flat on his back and as he rose to his feet he muttered, "Dad wasn't kidding when he said that this was a lot harder than it looks." Ernie Macmillan, on the other hand, had done a pirouetting leap into his hoop and looked momentarily thrilled, until he caught sight of Dean Thomas roaring with laughter at him.

"Never mine, never mind," said Twycross dryly, who did not seem to have expected anything better. "Adjust your hoops, please, and back to your original positions…" The second attempt was not better than the first. The third was just as bad. Not until the fourth did anything exciting happen. There was a horrible screech of pain and everybody looked around, terrified, to see Susan Bones of Hufflepuff wobbling in her hoop with her left leg still standing five feet away where she had started. The Heads of House converged on her; there was a great bang and a puff of purple smoke, which cleared to reveal Susan sobbing, reunited with her leg but looking horrified.

"Splinching, or the separation of random body parts," said Wilkie Twycross dispassionately, "occurs when the mind is insufficiently determined. You must concentrate continually upon your destination, and move, without haste, but with deliberation… Thus." Twycross stepped forwards, turned gracefully on the spot with his arms outstretched and vanished in a swirl of robes, reappearing at the back of the hall. "Remember the three D's," he said, "and try again… One - Two - Three -" But an hour later Susan's splinching had still been the most interesting thing that had happened. Twycross did not seem to be discouraged. As he had fastened his cloak, he merely said, "until next Saturday, everybody, and do not forget: Destination. Determination. Deliberation." With that he had waved his wand, which caused the hoops to vanish, and walked out of the Hall accompanied by Professor McGonagall. Talk had broken out at once as people had begun moving toward the Entrance Hall.

Hermione waved goodbye to Kushina and Ron before she headed up the stairs, Ron raised an eyebrow at the disappearing bookworm before he said, "and off she goes to visit Kenpachi and Yachiru." Kushina watched in amusement as Ron spotted Rukia and left her standing by herself as he walked off with the dark haired noblewoman.

"And that was the kettle calling the pot black," she murmured as she watched them walk way from her. After a few moments of staring after them she finally shrugged before she too headed up the stairs. She stopped on the second floor and made her way to the Chamber of Secrets, as she had stared after Ron and Rukia she had an idea about how to practice her apparition technique. She waved a 'hello' to Myrtle before she lazily hissed, " _open,_ " to the snake engraved on the faucet. The entrance quickly opened and the red haired witch jumped down the slide formed by the tunnel, she had hissed a quick, " _close,_ " over her shoulder as she rapidly slid down the pipe. After she reached the false Chamber of Secrets, Kushina had summoned fifty shadow clones, she then smirked as she said, "get to work already, you know what to do." Shortly before she summoned the clones she had drawn circles on the floor, as her clones began to attempt to apparate, Kushina had sat back and watched. Whenever the group got below ten clones she summoned another fifty to supplement them, every time one of her clones splinched itself she it dispel, thus allowing the rest of the clones to learn from it's mistake.

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Three weeks later, Kushina was confidant that she'd be able to pass the test for her Apparition License when the time came. All of her clones had managed to apparate back and forth across the false Chamber of Secrets at least nineteen times each without splinching even once. She entertained herself by summoning a clone to watch over the dragon enclosure, one night a batch of sixth years from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tried to get inside the enclosure. The group later admitted that the only reason they had tried was because the Slytherins and Gryffindors weren't trying it so they figured it wasn't that dangerous.

Both Charlie and the clone watched in bemusement when Tia stalked out of the shadows at the now terrified students, she had growled out at them, "what the hell do you think you're doing?" At her growl the hatchling woke up briefly, it had looked up at her before it yawned tiredly and glanced over to where Charlie was watching Tia ripping the group a new one. After a few moments it laid its head back down on it's fore paws and fell back asleep, it was soon snoring softly with it's wings twitching in its slumber.

When the clone had dispelled, Kushina had been thankful that she had been alone in her rooms, Minato had given her the same look she had received after she had snuck into an Iwa camp and had dyed all of their uniforms fluorescent colors during a skirmish. Of course, that prank had caused all of the Iwa Shinobi to give the red haired woman a very wide berth as well as cementing the part of her reputation where she was absolutely insane permanently into the entire country's collective thought. After she had calmed her breathing enough that she was no longer gasping for air in-between laughs she had heard Minato ask, "so what set that fit of laughter off? I haven't heard you laugh like that since the cheetah's told you how Naruto dyed the unholy trio's clothes bright pink as well as painting their houses in a rather bright rainbow of colors."

At that Kushina snickered before she gasped out, "yeah that prank was hilarious," she snickered again before she began to explain what set her off to the bemused portrait.

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Naruto looked up from where he had been painting the faces of the Hokage Monument, a large cheetah was lying on the top of the fourth's head while calling out suggestions the whole time. As the whiskered blond glanced around he murmured warily, "why do I feel as if someone is laughing at something I did…" Finally he shrugged as he said, "oh well, best not to wonder," he then went back to painting the phrase that the cheetah had told him to write below the fourth's head. As he put the last flourish to the short sentence he asked idly, "hey Sakinari, why did you want me to paint, 'the yellow flash loves his Red Hot-Blooded Habanero'? I mean, who is this 'Red Hot-Blooded Habanero' and why are you so sure that the fourth loved them?" As he had spoken Naruto had rinsed out the brushes of the water based paint coating them that he had used to make the clean up easier.

Sakinari yawned before she said as she stretched lazily, "the name of the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero was given to a girl that the fourth liked, when she was young she had quite the temper." Sakinari chuckled as she said wryly, "of course she also had as loud a mouth as you, I have no doubt that the pair of you would have liked each other." At Naruto's curious glance up at her, she said, "she loved ramen almost as much as you do," the cheetah snorted softly before she said, "in many ways you remind us of her. You have the same loud mouth, the same temperament, the same insane love of ramen, even your temper has been mellowing like hers did so long ago." When the large cat looked down at the blond child she noticed that he was goggling up at her, she then chuckled as she said lazily, "I wouldn't worry too much at being compared to her. Out of all the Konoha Shinobi, she was among the most respected, even by our enemies, the only ones more respected than her was the White Fang, the Yellow Flash and the Crimson Dragon."

Naruto cocked his head to the right and asked naively, "was she more respected than my mom?"

At that the female cat jumped down from her perch and as she led the boy down the street she said, "they were about equally matched in that way. Although, your mother was feared more for her love of pranks, explosions and your father more than her temper."

Naruto glanced over at her oddly before he asked in puzzlement, "how could the enemy fear her because of my dad?"

Sakinari snickered softly before she said slyly to him, "oh, let me count the ways… One time when your father had been pinned down by some enemy ninja your mother charged in with only her blades as her weapons. Although, she incapacitated the enemy she didn't kill or knock out all of them during her fight, those that had been awake had seen her berating your father for having interrupted her meal." At that the whiskered boy had given her an odd glance and she laughed as she said, "your father was quite feared by the enemy and he had cowered before your mother."

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Kensei looked across the training field at the dark haired man grinning at him over his still sealed sword before he cocked his pierced eyebrow at him and asked, "do you really want me to step it up a notch?" Shuhei hesitated for a brief moment before he nodded firmly at the brown eyed Captain in response to the inquiry. The pale haired man sighed but nodded as he held his sword in a one handed grip and reached up to his face, he gathered energy at the tips of his fingers then drew his hand down his face.

As the energy passed over his features a white bone mask appeared, the younger grey-eyed man stared at the sight, he was inwardly mildly disturbed by how he wasn't either repulsed nor disgusted by the sight of his Captain wearing a hollow mask. He was startled to be feeling an odd mixture of awe, safety and comfort, as if the beast behind the mask would never hurt him but would instead protect him.

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As the crossed blades their inner worlds had kept brushing against each other until they found familiar grooves and interlocked, as the two inner worlds locked together, Tachikaze looked over the edge of her ledge. She quickly spotted a tanned man with brilliant red tattoos lying on the ground, her face lit up at the sight of him before she made her way down her mountain towards him. Kazeshini sat up as he heard a familiar laugh on the wind and he grinned when he saw the wind spirit that embodied the sword of his masters Captain. He laughed as the female spirit tackled him with a gleeful yell of, "Kazeshini! I'm so glad to see you!"

As he fell back against the grass from where he had sat up to see her coming towards him, he let out an oomph as she caused the air to exit his lungs. He then mock glared down at her before he said in a fake angry tone, "what are you talking about! You just saw me yesterday!" At her mock pout he grinned up at her before he nuzzled her face with his left cheek as he murmured softly, "it's good to see you too, ya crazy wind sprite."

She giggled lightly at the odd nickname he had given her before she slid off his chest to lie on her side to his right. After several moments of cloud gazing on his part and whimsical humming on hers, she asked him in idle curiosity, "so when do you think the merging of our inner worlds will be finished?"

She then felt as he shrugged his shoulders before he said with a perverted tone to his voice, "probably when our wielders get their heads out of their asses and do the deed already."

Tachikaze stared at him in shock both at his tone and words before she smacked his chest with her hand as she shrieked, "Kazeshini!" He merely smirked at her, after a few moments she sighed but nodded as she dropped back down from her position next to him from where she had gotten up on her elbow to stare down at him in shocked outrage. She had then muttered into his chest in an annoyed tone, "you're probably right about that." At that statement both spirits sighed before Kazeshini went back to watching the clouds while Tachikaze fell asleep while the male spirit ran his fingers through her hair.

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Shuhei watched as the mask over Kensei's face shattered and disappeared, Kensei sighed before he opened his eyes. As his dark eyes met Shuhei's grey ones the older man said, "how about we call it a day? I don't know about you but I'm beat," at that he had sheathed Tachikaze's sealed form and stretched his arms over his head which had caused a series of pops to ring out.

Shuhei had snorted in agreement before he had sheathed Kazeshini, while he did he watched out of the corner of his eye as Kensei scooped up his Haori from where he had tossed it at the beginning of their little spar. He was still a bit hesitant to believe that Kensei wanted him by his side as long as Shuhei wanted to be there, sometimes he woke up thinking that it had all been one big dream and he'd would still be acting Captain of his division when he went into the office. As the pair walked out of the training grounds Shuhei was startled out of his thoughts when Kensei placed his right hand on the grey-eyed man's left shoulder. When the younger man glanced over at the dark eyed man he saw him biting his lower lip nervously. Once Kensei noticed that he had his lieutenant's attention he suggested, "I don't know how you feel, but that spar made me hungry." Brown eyes glanced nervously at grey before the owner of the darker pair said, "I know a good restaurant. The chef is kind of odd but the food's good and it's near my place so you can crash in my spare room if you want instead of heading back here."

Shuhei smiled at the older man before he said happily, "that sounds good, I was feeling a bit hungry so that sounds like a perfect idea to me." Kensei flashed a small smile at the dark haired shinigami next to him before he led the way via shunpo to a small out-of-the-way building. If Kensei hadn't have led him right to it Shuhei would have bypassed it completely, actually now that he had thought about it, he had bypassed it quite a few times.

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Two hours later, the pair exited the small building and as Shuhei was silently debating on whether to return to the squads barracks or crash with Kensei, the older man had blurted out, "how about a drink before you make up your mind?" As Shuhei turned startled grey eyes toward him Kensei inwardly berated himself, ' _darn it, we decided that this would go at his pace not ours! After all, if it'd gone at our pace he would have been in our bed three hours after we had met again after I had returned as his squads Captain…_ '

' _But he's our mate!'_ Kensei's hollow whined impatiently before he retorted, ' _he's been ours since the day we met, he carries our brand which proudly declares that we are his mate! He is our mate and we are his, we have been his mate since the day he met us, he just doesn't know it yet! Besides our mate has forgiven us for abandoning him.'_

Kensei mentally hit his head against a brick wall before he mentally thought privately to himself, _'why does my hollow just does not get it?'_ He then muttered mentally back to his rather brash hollow whose only thoughts were of Shuhei's contentment, pleasure and safety. _'Shuhei just needs more convincing that we are what he wants as well as to be convinced that we aren't going anywhere. He knows that we had no choice but to flee for our lives so of course he's forgiven us for that but he was betrayed by the man who replaced us as Captain so of course he needs to be convinced.'_

' _Fine, we will convince our mate that we will never leave him again and if we do have to leave then we will swiftly return to his side.'_ The hollow side of Kensei muttered in agreement before it fell back asleep with a muttered, _'wake me when our mate wishes for me to claim him.'_

Kensei was startled out of his shock that was caused by his inner hollows words concerning Shuhei by the same man murmuring, "that sounds fine, lead the way."

Although startled by his normally stubborn lieutenants acquiescence, he led the way to his house and after they had removed their sandals they had placed their Zanpakuto on the sword stand. Kensei then pulled out the bottle of Firewhiskey that Ichigo had given him for his last birthday along with a pair of crystal glasses. He set one glass down in front of Shuhei and the other in front of himself, he then poured the drink as he did he warned the other man, "be careful when you drink this. It has a bit of a kick to it," he ended with a wry twist to his lips before he took a sip of his glass and watched as the younger man had taken a tentative sip of the golden liquid.

As they drank they had idly began discussing their likes and dislikes, Kensei was amused to find out that Shuhei liked playing the guitar as well as liking motorcycles. While Shuhei was awed to find out that Kensei owned several clubs in the living world as well as having amassed a huge collection of vintage motorcycles as well as a large collection of custom motorcycles.

After several minutes of discussing their interests and hobbies Shuhei asked hesitantly, "what was the living world like one hundred years ago?" As he had asked the question he had refused to look up at the man sitting beside him, Kensei quietly chuckled at the other mans antics. He then began to regale the black haired man by weaving the tale of how the world was and how it had changed around him along with the rest of the Arrancar.

An hour later, Shuhei was doubled over with laughter due to Kensei having told him about Shinji's reaction to the Visored's first Mardi Gras, it had been their first trip to the United States and it had just so happened that the first time they ventured into New Orleans was during the Mardi Gras. When the pair had stopped laughing Kensei was leaning against Shuhei, the pair froze in place for a few moments before the elder man leaned forward and tentatively kissed the younger man. Shuhei responded to the soft kiss eagerly, which quickly turned the tentative kiss into a far more passionate one.

After several moments of the pair making out, Kensei pulled away reluctantly before he rested his forehead against the dark haired mans. He then whispered hesitantly to him, "if you don't want this… Just say no," after he said that he swallowed thickly as he stared into the luminescent grey eyes of his second.

Shuhei's eyes widened in shock before they had narrowed in determination before he growled sternly to the pale haired man, "no." Only when Kensei had closed his eyes after they had a look of hurt confusion flash through them and the older man began pulling away from him did the younger man realize his mistake. Shuhei grabbed hold of the back of his Captain's neck before he pulled him back into his arms. At the look of startled confusion in the older mans brown eyes, the grey-eyed man had murmured, "no, I'd never not want this. Do you even realize how much I want you? How much I crave your touch? How much the idea of having you all for myself consumes my sleep until all I can't rest without dreaming of you?"

Kensei's eyes had widened at the first question and had slowly darkened in arousal as Shuhei had continued asking his rhetorical questions, after Shuhei had fallen silent he said quietly, "no I don't." The silver haired Visored then leaned forward to nip at the younger mans lower lip before he had drawn the grey-eyed man into a long slow kiss. As he pulled away from the now whimpering man Kensei purred huskily, "why don't you show me just how much you want me…" At that he withdrew from his perch on top of the younger mans lap, as he began removing his clothes he had been walking backwards toward his room, all the while he had been giving the reclining man a sultry 'come and get me' look.

Shuhei stared numbly after his now naked Captain before a predatory smile crossed his face before he got up from his seat and began stalking after Kensei. As he walked toward Kensei's bedroom he began to remove his own clothing, leaving it piled on top of the older mans as he did so, his grey eyes only had a thin ring surrounding large black pupils.

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Kazeshini had woke up with a startled yelp when he fell out of a tree due to the earth shaking under it, from his rather undignified sprawl on the ground he had heard Tachikaze giggling in mirth. As he looked up at her with a confused look on his face she had said while she had covered her mouth, "it seems that you got your wish about our masters." He had climbed back onto his feet and stared at her with a look on his face that said, 'ehh, you better explain that to me again.' When all of the sudden he felt a shudder go through the inner worlds and he gasped in shock as he watched as the space between his savanna's and the mountains of Tachikaze's domain shrunk even more than before.

He then watched in amusement as several trees from his rather jungle-like forest turned into trees more suited to being found to a more snowy environment or to a mountainside. He then turned back to the wind sprite and said wryly, "never mind, I get it now." At that comment from him, she had fallen over laughing in mirth, not even stopping as the occasional shudder that went through the landscape became closer and closer together. Kazeshini had joined her in the fit of laughter, both of them were steadfastly ignoring the feelings emanating from their bond with their respective masters.

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Kensei panted while he had tried to regain his breath, after he had gotten his breath back he glanced down at Shuhei, who had merely smirked up at the older man before he audibly and visibly swallowed his mouthful. The act had caused the older man to curse while his brown eyes had flashed a gold, at the curses that issued from the silver haired Captains mouth Shuhei's smirk had transformed into a very smug look. Upon seeing it Kensei had reached down and pulled the grey-eyed man up, as soon as Shuhei was close enough, the elder man had begun devouring his mouth. When Kensei had pulled back from the intense kiss Shuhei's eyes were hazy and his lips were swollen from the nips that the older man had given them during the kiss.

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Itachi had listened idly as the civilians around Kisame and himself talked about a group of Nuke Nin who had encountered a red haired, grey eyed ghost, who had soundly trounced them before pranking them and walked away. Itachi had laughed quietly, that action had cause his partner to smile at the younger man fondly, after a few moments of quiet chuckles Itachi had murmured, "that sounds like something that she'd do…" The pair had then went back to their hotel room, as Itachi removed his cloak he had pondered aloud, "I wonder what had caused those Nuke Nin to spread the word to form opinions of Naruto based only on his actions and not on the word of others…"

At that, Winky had popped into the room, thankfully the pair had recognized her energy signature as a friendly one and didn't move to attack her. She had bowed to the pair before she said softly, "Mistress 'Shina had me bring this to Mistress 'Koto, who after viewing it thought that both of you would like to see it as well." With that the female house elf had placed a small pensive on the dresser, she had then said, "when you are done with it, Master 'Tachi and Master 'Same, just call and I will come fetch it back." She then bowed a farewell to the stunned pair, although Itachi was inwardly amused by how she had inadvertently called Kisame, 'Master Shark.'

Kisame had shaken himself out of his state before he gestured to the pensive which, thanks to Kushina's visit, the pair was familiar how to operate, as he asked, "shall we?" The dark haired teen eyed the object warily before he nodded and picked it up, he had placed it on the bed between himself and Kisame. After a few moments of hesitation the pair had touched the surface of the memories and had been quickly pulled into it as observers.

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Kushina had wandered along the coastline near the former Land of Whirlpools, she would often use Shunpo to head to more distant lands more quickly. During one such excursion she had come across a rather large group of Nuke Nin comprised of five mist nin, two from Hidden Rain, three from Rock, four from lightning and two from Waterfall. Since she had been bored she had decided to relieve her boredom by testing herself against the group, the sixteen had been so startled by her appearance that she had pranked them as well as fighting them using Taijutsu.

She had hit the majority of them in several pressure points, which caused them to become temporarily paralyzed from the neck down, during which time she had used color changing charms on their hair to turn them different colors as well as drawing on their faces. As she had walked away from them one of the rock nin called out after her, "why don't you just kill us and collect our bounties?"

To the surprise of the other fifteen Nuke Nin she had stopped in her tracks before she had asked while she looked over her left shoulder, "what good is the money of your bounties to me?" She had huffed a small laugh before she had remarked wryly while her gold flecked grey eyes glinted in vague amusement, "after all, what can a ghost buy with money? Ghosts don't need to eat. Ghosts don't need to sleep, ghosts are dead after all. So tell me, why would I, as a ghost want to collect your bounties for? You're all far too young for me to have a grudge against you and if one of your relatives held a grudge against me, they had, no doubt, considered it fulfilled upon my death."

At that the entire group goggled at her in shock and after several moments of silence, Kushina began walking away again. She got five more feet away when one of the rain nin blurted out, "how do you become a ghost anyway?"

To his surprise, the crimson haired woman turned laughed softly before she turned to look at the group, as she stared at them in amusement she held up her left hand and as she spoke she ticked off a finger. "Ghosts can be formed several ways but there are three that are the most common. Number one: you cannot bear to leave a place you called home or even a place that you hated so long as there is a great attachment to it, ghosts can also be that way with objects that were particularly precious or loathed by the ghost. There are some ghosts who cannot bear to leave the places they were killed and relive that moment over and over again, others are attached to an object and follow it to wherever it calls home." With that she had ticked off a single finger before she had continued her explanation, "number two: the person left a task or a promise unfulfilled and as such cannot rest until it has been finished successfully."

As she ticked off the second finger she said while the gold flecks in her eyes glowed softly, "the third reason is that either their final wishes, or the final wishes of someone they cared for deeply, were not followed. And those types of ghosts cannot rest until those final wishes have finally been abided by." She smiled sadly at the group as she said, "my reason for still being here is number three, my beloved's final wishes were not followed and as such I will not rest until they have been. However, that doesn't seem as if that'll be happening anytime soon," with that she turned and began walking away for the third time.

The male Waterfall nin called out to her, "what's you're name," he had decided silently to see if he could help her rest in peace. After all, if he had become a ghost like she had he would want all the help he could get to rest in peace.

She had paused in her tracks again at the question before she had come to a decision and said, "my name was Kushina. Kushina Uzumaki of Konoha," at that a few of the nins frowned since the name sounded familiar to them somehow.

The other Waterfall nin asked curiously, silently wondering just why someone's final wishes were ignored, "what was your beloved's final wishes?"

Kushina turned around and stared at her for several long moments before she said with a wry smile, "he wanted our son, Naruto, to be seen as only himself. Not as me, or my beloved, nor indeed as anyone or anything but who he is." With that Kushina turned around and walked away from them, once she was out of their visual range she used Shunpo to reach the shore of a lake, she then stepped out onto the surface. She then went through several of the complicated Kata's unique to the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools.

As she went through the kata's she had hummed several old lullabies that were exclusive to her family, half-way through a song and kata the clone she had left behind to watch over the group dispelled itself. Her grey eyes glinted in amusement as she laughed so hard that she had collapsed atop the water and rolled around in hysterical amusement. After she had left the group behind they had started to verbally plan how to spread the word of her and her son's plight to the other countries. Unknown to the laughing red head and the scheming Nuke Nin only the civilians of the countries would truly believe their tale while the Shinobi would dismiss such talk as mere rumor. Somehow, the news of the Ghost that haunted the land, or the Crimson Ghost as the civilians would name her, completely bypassed both Konoha and a small mining camp in the land of Frost.

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Itachi and Kisame stared at each other for several minutes in amusement after the memory had ended before the blue skinned man commented wryly, "your godmother simply cannot resist a prank. Can she?"

Itachi thought carefully for several minutes before he had shaken his head as he had said, "no, I don't believe she can." At that the pair of Nuke Nin started laughing, thankfully Itachi had set the pensive back on the dresser before he had replied to his lover's comment.


	22. Chapter Twenty-One: The Honor of Badgers

**Chapter Twenty-One:** **The Honor of Badgers**

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Kushina cackled as she untied the package that Fred and George's owl, Loki, had brought her, it had a special potion contained in it. She had asked the twins if they could make her a potion that if added to water would cause it to freeze then four hours later turn it into a gas form. Minato watched in amusement as she clutched the package to her chest after she had given Hedwig's son an owl treat and told him, "you can stay in the Owlery tonight before you go back home." Loki barked softly at her before he took off out the window to the Owlery.

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Ron and Rukia watched in amusement as Kushina cheerfully used her clones to spread the concoction she had made using water combined with the potion the twins had sent her. As they watched a thick layer of ice appeared on the floors and stairs, Astoria looked on with glee as she saw the ice forming. After the layer of ice had formed completely Kushina flicked her wand and a loud beat filled the air, Astoria began skating to the music.

Several other students from all four houses congregated in the dungeons to skate around and goof off, others had slipped down the stairs by accident and didn't think of using the levitation charm to lift themselves up. All of the sudden there was a clatter from the entrance to the Slytherin Common room, when Astoria and Kushina had glanced over they had seen Draco sprawled out on the floor. The blond haired boy was staring up at the ceiling in a daze when Astoria had skated over to him, as she came close she called out, "welcome to Hogwart's Wizards on Ice!" She then reached down and picked him up before she gripped him by the shoulders as she said cheerfully, "lets go skating!"

As she pushed him forward she skated them up to Kushina as she did she called out, "Kushina, the ice worked out so great!"

Kushina looked at her in amusement while Draco stared at her bemusedly as Kushina said, "yeah, it worked, didn't it?"

Astoria had let go of Draco, who had proceeded to hold onto the wall, before she wrapped an arm around the red haired girls shoulders as she asked, "how did you do it?"

Kushina had rolled her eyes before she retorted, "oh sure, I tell you, then you tell someone else. The next thing you know, we're in the middle of another ice age."

Astoria grinned at her before she shoved away from the pair, as she skated down the hall she approached some Ravenclaws. As she did she said excitedly to them, "everybody must be skating!"

One of the group had shouted back to her, "just 'cause you're a slacker, Greengrass doesn't mean we all are!"

From where she had been leaning against the wall where she had caught herself she said, "moles and trolls."

One of the girls skating up and down the hall looked at her oddly before she had asked Astoria, "what?"

Astoria then skated back to Draco and Kushina as she said, "moles and trolls. Work, work, work. We never see the light of day. We plan this thing for weeks," she had gestured at Kushina then herself while staring at Draco before she gestured at everyone in the Ravenclaw group. "And all they want to do is study! I'm disgusted. I'm sorry but it's not like me. I'm depressed."

She had then skated backwards slightly before she said, "we had no one show up at the mutant hamster races. We had one entry for the Madam Curie look-alike contest. And he was disqualified later." She had then taken off her earmuffs before she placed her hands on her hips and asked in a disgruntled tone, "why do I bother?" She had then thrown her hands up in disgust before she had skated over to a side room and opened the door. "Let's go Hufflepuff house. What are you a bunch of weirdoes," she yelled inside.

As Astoria was screaming that into the room, the red haired witch turned to Draco and asked in a serious voice, "are you absolutely sure you can handle her?" The platinum blond nodded so she then reached into her bag and asked, "do you want a cherry? I grow them myself." She had pulled out a fist sized cherry before she handed it over to the rather stunned looking Slytherin.

Meanwhile, at the top of the stairs Luna had sat down on a sled with Dean and Seamus standing behind her, she lowered the face shield on her helmet then said, "okay, let's go." The pair had then pushed her down the stairs, she had slid down perfectly until she had reached the bottom when the sled tilted sideways on her.

A few people gasped as Kushina ran over to the upended sled and as she helped the blond haired girl up she asked, "are you alright, Imouto-Chan?"

Luna had taken off her helmet as she said in an upset tone, "no, no I'm not. Not emotionally. I'm disappointed. Not terribly but still…it should have gone much further, much faster." As she had spoken she'd begun straitening out the sled before she continued, "the problem is obviously the drag coefficient. I'll just have to redesign the blades. I can do that here no problem. But after they're designed I'll have to make them and that takes time. Do you know how long this stuff is supposed to last?"

At the question posed to her Kushina had shrugged before she said, "maybe another half an hour."

Luna beamed before she said, "that's good. That's great. I can do that no problem!" She had then shot off down the hall, she had pushed the sled along in front of her as she did.

Smith had just stepped out of the Hufflepuff common room, he had stopped in his tracks as he caught sight of the ice. "What is this supposed to be," he asked in an annoyed tone.

Astoria had skated up to him and said, "this. This is ice. This is what happens to water when it gets too cold." She then gestured to Smith while looking at Kushina and Draco as she said, "this. This is Smith. This is what happens when people get too sexually frustrated."

When the pair snickered at her quip Smith had snarled at them and Astoria mock frowned as she said, "well that wasn't nice. And we were going to make you the King of the Winter Carnival."

Smith had frowned as he asked, "really?"

Astoria had then smirked as she looked over at Kushina and Smith said, "oh, ha, ha, ha! I suppose you're in on this too. Did you make this," he asked while pointing at the ice covering the floor.

The red haired prankster smirked as she said, "I'm not going to answer that."

"Well, whose going to clean all this up," Smith demanded as he gestured at the ice on the floor and stairs as well as the piles of snow on the ground.

Kushina smiled smugly at him as she said, "you won't have to. It'll go from solid from directly to gas."

Smith glanced down at the floor in shock before he said, "whoa! Really? What is it?"

Kushina looked at him as she said, "I'm not saying. But it's fairly rare and very unstable."

Astoria had skated back over and said while she glided in a spiral, "just like you, Smith."

Smith had then sneered at the three of them before he said as he turned away, "you're all just a bunch of degenerates."

Astoria raised her eyebrows at him as she had retorted, "we are? What about that time I caught you naked with a bowl of Jell-O?" At that Draco inwardly growled while he had glared at Smith as he had thought to himself, ' _damn him. The only man she's supposed to see naked is me!'_ He then paled at his own thoughts before he blushed a light pink in embarrassment.

Smith, meanwhile, had flushed a bright red before he glared at her as he snapped, "no you did not!"

Astoria had then glanced over at the other two as she had said, "this is true."

Smith had then glared at them, as they had began to snicker, he had hastily defended himself by saying, "I was hot and hungry. Okay?"

At their continued laughter he had huffed as he glared at them, Astoria had then tried to skate up the stairs but the ice had started to turn to gas. After she had fallen down and as she started coughing she had asked, "Hey Kushina? What's happening with the ice?" She had paused to cough some more before she said exaggeratedly, "help Kushina. I'm melting!"

As Kushina pulled a pair of goggles over her eyes she had said gleefully, "it worked!"

"That's neat," Draco had said while he stared at the vanishing ice in shock.

Kushina had then cried out, "now if we could just keep it from exploding!"

At that Smith had goggled at her before he had squeaked out, "exploding!" He had then fled back into his common room.

Kushina had begun snickering as soon as the door closed behind him. Astoria had then called out worriedly, "Kushina. You were just joking about the exploding…Right?" Astoria had poked her head up to stare at the older witch as she doubled over in uncontrollable laughter.

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While the students were either skating on, or cursing as they had slid around on Kushina's indoor homemade ice rink, her parents were in their rooms. Remus was at the desk grading some essays while James reclined on the bed, the gold eyed man occasionally glanced at his now visibly pregnant mate. The final changes that were caused by the pregnancy had taken place the previous week which meant that in the next month or so James would be giving birth for the second time.

The hazel eyed man was propped up against some pillows and was eating mint chocolate chip ice cream straight out of the carton as he read the latest edition of Transfiguration Monthly. He had rested the carton on his stomach as he ate another spoonful of ice cream, he had flinched slightly before he left the spoon in his mouth and rubbed tiny circles along the side of his rounded stomach. Remus had smiled fondly as he guessed that their baby must have kicked in it's sleep, after a few moments of watching James eating, Remus had returned his attention to the essays before him. As he did he idly wondered what their daughter was up to before he shrugged as he had thought to himself, ' _oh well, best not to know after all if I don't know I can plead ignorance.'_

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Sirius chuckled quietly as he watched his daughter determinedly tottered around the living room, which had long ago been child-proofed. She was using the furniture to help keep herself up at some points but she was getting used to walking without assistance. He then heard Severus laugh lowly before he had said softly, "before you know it she'll be running around with James and Remus' second child causing no end of trouble not to mention raising hell."

Sirius had then leaned backward into his husbands chest as he murmured, "yeah, I know…" He had then watched in amusement as his daughter pulled a book off the shelf. Cassiopeia had then proceeded to drag the book over to her parents, when she had reached them she had handed the book up to Severus as she had babbled up at him. To Severus' amusement the book was Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne.

Sirius looked down when he felt a tug on his robes, he saw his daughter holding her arms up in a timeless silent demand to be picked up. He had reached down and picked her up, he had then sat down on the couch where Severus had perched before he set her down on his lap. Cassiopeia had then turned her wide black eyes to him as Severus began reading aloud, "Chapter One: A Shifting Reef. The year was signaled by a remarkable incident, a mysterious and puzzling phenomenon…" Sirius had closed his eyes and allowed the smooth voice of his husband to wash over him.

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Ginny looked around curiously as she and Tetsuzaemon walked down the streets of the Rukongai to where his mother resided. Several of the people glanced curiously at the red haired girl, most of them knew that Tetsuzaemon was taking her to meet his mother. Some of them were already making bets about how long it would be before she fled back to her home and away from the formidable woman. As they reached the house, he led her through the front garden and up to the door, he knocked lightly before he opened up the door as he said, "Ma, I got someone that I want you to meet."

At that a dark haired woman who bore a vague resemblance to her son exited a room, she was wiping her hands on a towel at her waist. She smiled at seeing Tetsuzaemon before she said, "welcome home Tetsuzaemon. And who is this," she asked curiously as she turned her dark gaze to Ginny.

One glance at her and Ginny could tell that her boyfriends mother was just like her own, she inwardly gave a sigh of relief. After all, she knew she could handle her own mother so she could more than likely handle his. Ginny had then bowed politely to the dark haired woman as she said, "my name is Ginny Weasley and it's nice to finally meet you."

Tetsuzaemon watched nervously as his mother eyed his girlfriend critically, as he did he mentally crossed his fingers that Ginny would meet with her approval. Because he would have hated to have granted her the one thing she constantly nagged him about, which was finding someone to spend the rest of his life with and settling down without her liking the girl. He breathed a sigh of relief when his mother had finally bowed back as she had said, "Uguisu Iba."

Uguisu then proceeded to look the young woman over as she contemplated if this one would be scared off, from the look of those brown eyes she didn't think the girl would run. She had then smiled at Ginny before she turned to her son and said, "go visit your division and do your paperwork. I need to speak with your girlfriend here about a few things." At that he shot an apologetic look toward Ginny before he obeyed his mother's order with a hastily muttered agreement.

Uguisu then turned her attention back to Ginny before she smiled again and asked while leading the red haired witch into the kitchen, "so what was your childhood like?"

Ginny had laughed before she began regaling the older woman with tales of her older twin brothers antics, of Charlie's obsession with Dragons, of Ron's adventures with Kushina and Hermione as well as her brothers Percy and Bill's jobs.

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Two hours later, Tetsuzaemon returned to the house to find his mother and Ginny laughing in the garden, the pair looked up at his approach. Ginny smiled up at him before she remarked, "your mother reminds me of mine." At that the dark haired man blinked from behind his sunglasses in puzzlement as he pondered which would have been worse, his mother hating his girlfriend or what actually happened, his mother adoring and bonding with his girlfriend.

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Sajin walked tiredly back to Hogwarts, he had just taken care of a swarm of Dementors and since he had left his gigai back at the school he was showing his true appearance which was making him edgy. Half way to his quarters he literally bumped into Luna while he had turned a corner, at the sight of the blond haired girl his golden eyes had widened in sudden fear. To his utter surprise, but really after her talks about snorlacks he shouldn't have been, all she did was blink up at him before she had said, "hello Sajin. Did you get into a fight," she asked curiously with her head tilted to the side.

The large anthromorphic wolf gaped down at her before he asked in shock, "you're not the slightest bit surprised or disgusted by my appearance?"

She frowned slightly up at him before she asked in vague curiosity, "should I be?"

He then goggled down at her before he pointed at his chest and gestured vaguely at his body as he said pointedly, "I'm a wolf!"

She merely nodded in response and as she did she had taken his hand as she said, "yes, you are and a very beautiful wolf you are. But that still doesn't explain why I should be disgusted by the sight of you," she had pointed out as she had dragged him to his rooms. He was so startled by how blasé she was acting that he had allowed her to tell him to, "get back into your gigai or every girl in the school will want to pet your coat."

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Much to the amusement of Rodolphus, his baby brother had kept seeking out Isshin Kurosaki to discuss magical healing versus muggle healing methods. From the very start of these discussions Rodolphus had begun getting to know the two girls that would become his nieces if Rabastan had his way.

One night after a discussion with Isshin, Rabastan had woken up screaming and crying, Rodolphus had rocked his baby brother to calm him like he had when they were children. After his younger brother had stopped crying, Rodolphus had asked quietly, "what was your dream about?"

Rabastan stared up at his older brother sadly before he had said with an odd note of surety to his voice, "the twins mother died to protect their older brother." Rodolphus blinked in shock, he had known that due to the twins telling him about how their brother felt guilty due to their moms death. However, he didn't think that Isshin would have discussed how his wife had died with Rabastan just yet.

After a few moments of silence Rodolphus asked in a forced mildly curious voice, "how are you so sure? Did Isshin tell you that?"

Rodolphus then felt his brothers head slowly shake from side to side before he heard as he had said softly, "no, he didn't tell me. I saw her do it as if I had been her, I felt what she did and it was as if I was merely remembering something I had done that I had suppressed."

The next day when Rabastan was helping Isshin check the potions inventory like he'd been doing for the past few months, the ex-spy had quipped a remark that had caused and odd thought to go through Isshin's mind. ' _With how he acts, moves and sounds, I sometimes swear that he is you reborn, my beloved Masaki. But that's impossible isn't it…'_ As he watched Rabastan out of the corner of his eye, the former Captain had resolved to speak to his niece about such matters and to have her ask the King about his wife's soul.

Later that day, Isshin had sought out Kushina, he found her lounging in the sun next to the lake, it was clear from her appearance that she'd been training again. She had looked up when she heard him approaching her, she had then gestured for him to sit down beside her on the grass. "What brings you out to see me, Uncle Isshin," she asked as she had sat up from where she had been watching the clouds pass by.

"How were you able to be the second in command of the Kings guard? As well as being reborn in nineteen eighty when you died in nineteen eighty-five," he asked in a rush after several moments of tense silence.

She had hummed to herself for a few moments at the odd question but she finally said, "the King had sent mine and Kisuke's souls into the past. Thus my being born five years before my death," she watched in amusement as her Uncle absorbed the information she had just given him. "Anything else you'd like to ask me," she queried as she laid back down to involve herself in every male Nara's favorite past time besides napping.

Isshin had smiled down at her before he said, "only a favor, my dearest niece," she had hummed to show she was listening to him. He then ruffled her bangs before he said, "ask the King about what happened to Masaki's soul, I'd like to know how much longer I'm going to wait before I can see her again."

She had glanced over at him before she nodded as she said, "I'll ask but I don't know if he'll answer the question." Isshin nodded in understanding before he stood up and went back inside the school, as he did she shook her head in confusion. She then murmured aloud to herself, "I wonder what that was all about…" Finally she shrugged before she turned her attention back to the sky and said, "oh, well. I'll find out eventually I suppose."

Later that same day, Kushina had taken Yachiru to the Palace of Heaven to give the guards their daily training session. The pink haired girl had asked if Yuzu could come along to watch, Kushina had glanced over at Yuzu and raised an eyebrow at her in askance. "I wouldn't mind watching," Yuzu had said as she glanced between her older cousin and the bouncing girl.

Two hours later, Yuzu was watching from atop the wall, sitting beside her on her left was a bemused Kushina while on the other side of her was a man with dark hair wearing a pair of goggles on his forehead. Beside him was a woman with brown hair and eyes, she also had a purple rectangle on each of her cheeks, the pair had cheerfully greeted her cousin with a smile, Kushina had introduced them to her as Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara. The four of them were watching in amusement as Yachiru ran the majority of the King's guard ragged. Kushina tapped the young girl on the shoulder before she murmured in her ear, "I need to go talk to the King, wait here for me if I'm not back before Yachiru's done playing with them." Yuzu had nodded before she watched as her cousin left the room before she returned her gaze to the rather one sided sparring match taking place before her.

Kushina had made her way to the throne room, once she reached the throne she bowed and the King looked down at her. He then asked curiously, "did you need something from me, Potter-Taicho?"

He smirked when he heard her muttering under her breath, "that's Potter-Lupin-Taicho." She then cleared her throat before she looked up at him and said, "my Uncle Isshin wanted to know where his wife, my Aunt Masaki's soul went after her death. He's wondering just how long it will be before he sees her again."

The King chuckled before he said, "I gave Masaki two choices when she appeared in my throne room, the first was to go on to the Seireitei with her memories intact and wait for her husband and children there. The second choice was t go back into time and be reincarnated there with a guarantee that her reincarnation would remember her life as Masaki Kurosaki once they met Isshin. She chose the second option and was reincarnated twice, she gained a brother in her first reincarnation that followed her to her second reincarnation. In the first life she was the elder sibling while in the second she's the younger of the pair."

Kushina stared at him before she asked curiously, "so who was she reincarnated as? Can you tell me?"

The King laughed before he said, "your aunt was reincarnated first as Hashirama Senju then as Rabastan Lestrange."

Kushina's eyes had widened in shock at the first name that come out of the King's mouth and hit her forehead at the second. She had then muttered to herself, "well that certainly explains why he reminds me of her."

The King had laughed at her actions before he grew serious as he asked her, "are you certain about your decision to retire after fulfilling your mission for me?"

She sighed as she closed her eyes and nodded in response before she had said, "with all due respect your majesty… I want to be there to see my son fulfill his dream. I want to watch his Chuunin exam. I want to be there to say, 'welcome home, my little Naruto.' I want to be the one he runs to in a panic over his first date. It's either retirement or I'm permanently assigned to the living world on patrol until the end of my natural life. If we do the second option you can send my paperwork via Kenpachi and I'll send it back via Hedwig." At that she opened her eyes and stared up at the King sadly, knowing he would prefer to have her stay as Head of his Guard if he couldn't have Ichigo.

He stared back at her as he hummed thoughtfully before he nodded as he had said, "I'll think about our options and let you know my decision when you bring Tom Riddle's soul before me or send him to hell." She had bowed a farewell to her King before she left the throne room and made her way back to the training grounds. When she reached her destination her lips twitched at eh sight of her men groaning in tiredness while Yachiru was still bouncing around energetically.

Three hours later, Yachiru was playing tag with Yuzu on the front lawn of Hogwarts, after about two hours Yachiru had yawned before she had murmured, "I'm tired." She had then plopped down into Yuzu's lap and fell asleep, as she dozed the pink haired girl snored softly. Yuzu gently ran her fingers through the short pink locks, as she did she gazed down at her and silently marveled, ' _it's so hard to believe that someone so small is over a hundred years old…'_

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The day of March eighth dawned with clear blue skies, Kushina had just given her team a pep talk and before they had filed out of the locker room Kushina had pulled Ginny aside. "If something happens and you need to take over as Seeker, put Karin as one of our chasers. She's already on the reserve team plus she works relatively well with Collin and Dennis," she ordered quietly. Ginny nodded at the soft order before she left to the field and did her introductory lap along with the rest of the team.

After they took their places, the Hufflepuff team came out on the field, Susan Bones was commenting for the match, "and here comes Hufflepuff! Jason Cadwaller, Captain and Keeper of the team!" At that a tall brown haired boy shot out and did a lap before he landed across the field from Kushina. Susan then said in a cheerful voice, "here comes the beaters of the team, Kevin Witby and Owen Cauldwell.

Two third years shot out onto the field, then after a lap they hovered across from Dean and Seamus. Susan had continued to speak while the pair did their laps, "on the team for the last year, Zacharias Smith! With him are Wayne Hopkins and Megan Jones, both are sixth years. And last but certainly not least, Michael Summerby as Seeker for Hufflepuff!"

Madam Hooch stood between the two captains and as she glanced between the pair she had said, "I want a nice clean game, from both of you! Now shake hands and get into the air so I can release the balls." Kushina and Jason shook hands before she had taken her place in front of Michael and Jason had shot off to hover in front of his goals.

Madam Hooch had then kicked the trunk which had caused it to release the Bludgers and Snitch, she had then tossed the Quaffle into the air. Dennis darted forward, caught it then passed it to his brother via a reverse pass, who then made to dart upward. Smith chased off after him, never noticing how Colin had dropped the Quaffle to Ginny due to Collin staying hunched over his broom. He only realized that he'd been chasing the wrong target when he'd heard Susan announcing, "and a beautiful long shot by Ginny Weasley!"

Smith swore viciously enough that Madam Hooch reprimanded him for it, the other two chasers had been kept at bay due to Dean and Seamus hitting Bludgers at them. Kushina had snickered at the dressing down that the hawk-eyed woman had given the arrogant seventh year. James had once commented to Severus, "he's more arrogant than I was before our teacher in fifth year got a hold of me." A laugh had pealed out of her mouth uncontrollably and Smith glared up at her, she easily ignored the older boy since compared to other glares she had directed at her, his didn't even rate a zero.

Michael noticed the predatory way that his fellow Seeker was circling a patch of the field intently, so when Kushina had dived down he followed. However, Kushina had faked the dive and pulled out of it at the last minute, thus causing Michael to hit the field in a perfect Wronksi Feint. Madam Pomfrey announced him as still able to play so he took back off into the air, this time he stayed a bit further away from the red haired Seeker.

While they had dived Gryffindor had scored two more times while Hufflepuff had scored three times, making the scored tied at fifty point each. The next time Kushina had started staring intently below her only Smith noticed it, he took the bat away from a stunned Owen. He used it to smack a Bludger at Kushina, just before the ball was about impacted her, she had turned her head to follow the snitches movement. So instead of it hitting the side of her head it hit the back of her skull with a loud crack. She had slumped over and fell off her broom, it was clear to all those that had seen it that she was unconscious.

As she had fallen from the sky, Toshiro had leapt out of the stands, wings made from ice appeared on his back as he jumped. The white haired boy caught her easily enough before he cradled her and glided to the ground, as he was setting her down Madam Hooch called for a time out. Madam Pomfrey checked her over before she had breathed a sigh of relief and said, "she'll be fine. However, she'll have to heal naturally. If I use a bone mending potion or spell on her it could cause her fractured bones to grow wrong and pierce her brain. Gryffindor will have to find another player for her position or forfeit the game. I would have young Orihime heal her but she's sick with Dragon Pox and can't even call out her Shun Shun Rika."

At that announcement, Ginny turned to the Professors and asked, "can we pull from our reserve team?" The Headmaster nodded in response to, in his opinion, odd question, Ginny then turned to Madam Hooch and said, "then I'm calling in Karin Kurosaki to take my place as Chaser while I'll be taking over Kushina's spot as Seeker."

Before Smith, or anyone else for that matter, could object to a first year playing in the game the Headmaster had nodded and said, "very well. Gryffindor will change it's roster and continue playing," with that Madam Pomfrey had taken Kushina to the infirmary.

As Karin had joined them on the field Ginny had said, "let's give them hell, Smith attacked Kushina that way on purpose so let's pound the hell out of them. Karin, you're in charge of the chasers, Dennis," she glanced at him then at his brother, "Collin, follow Karin's orders even if they don't make sense. Ron, make sure that they don't score another point. Dean, Seamus," she smirked at them before she said, "keep their chaser's busy. Everybody understand the plan?" At that all of the other players nodded with feral smiles on their faces, unfortunately for the Badgers, the Lions were out for blood.

As soon as the time out was canceled\ it was clear to everyone watching that Kushina's team was dead-set on winning the match for her. It showed in the way that the chasers relentlessly scored points, Karin got a few whistles when she had tossed the Quaffle in the air and kicked it so that it curved around the keeper. Susan had clapped before she had said, "I don't think anyone has invented a new Quidditch move at Hogwarts in quite some time."

Forty minutes after Kushina had been knocked out, her team had won the match with a score of three hundred and ninety to fifty. To the amusement of all the watchers was how Jason had yelled at Smith, the dressing down ended with Jason yelling, "and you're off the team for that stunt, Smith!"

As Smith was about to object to the captains decision, Albus had said, "well put Mr. Cadwaller, I agree and I also revoke Mr. Smith's prefect status as well as his rights to visit Hogsmeade. If he was willing to attack a Student Head of House then I cannot trust him with the other students." At that Albus' piercing blue eyes locked onto Smith before he said, "if the NEWT exams weren't so close to being held, I would expel you for your actions today Mr. Smith. And I will be sending a letter concerning to your parents as well as assigning you an escort to all of your classes for the remainder of your time here."

After he had said that Madam Pomfrey emerged onto the field and commented casually while she glared at the teen, "especially since if Kushina hadn't have turned her head the way she did, she would have died instantly. As it is if young Toshiro hadn't have caught her when he did she could have been killed due to the height from which she had fallen."

At that statement, the Headmaster's normally cheerful twinkling blue eyes turned into icy glares as he stated, "then the only reason that I won't expel you is if you pass your NEWT exams. If you don't pass them, you will not be allowed back to repeat your last year here, so I suggest that you pass the tests." With that said Albus had turned around and went inside to check on Kushina, however he had cast a monitoring charm on the seventh year before he did.

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Kushina's brow furrowed in confusion when she heard Madam Pomfrey telling someone, "calm down, being this angry is not good for your child."

She opened a single golden eye, then the other and glanced to her left, she had found Kisuke sitting there, she stared at him in bemusement before she turned her gaze to the foot of her bed where she saw her parents with the Mediwitch. James was glaring at her as he yelled, "I'll stay angry as long as I want to." Suddenly he grabbed his distended stomach and everyone realized that his robes were soaked from the waist down, Remus' eyes widened at the sight of the sodden robes. His eyes had widened even further when James had said, "now is not the time, little one. Daddy is very upset at the nurse and doesn't want to give birth to you right now."

Poppy snorted before she commented wryly, "well, I'm afraid that your child disagrees with you about that and seems to be of the opinion that now is the perfect time to be born." She had then ushered him and Remus over to a bed before she had James lie down, she had drawn the curtain shut as she had said, "alright, lets get see how far along you are." After several moments of hearing clothing rustling they both heard Madam Pomfrey berating Remus, "Remus stop hovering! He'll be fine, after all you do have a daughter and he did have to go through this to birth her!"

Kushina had turned back to Kisuke and remarked idly while she stared at him, "well, this is certainly an interesting way to wake up."

Kisuke chuckled lightly before he said, "indeed it is, my dear." He then called for a house elf and had her tell everyone that Kushina was awake and James was in labor.

Sirius, Severus, Lily, Coyote, Lilynette, Jushiro and Tonks showed up at the same time, the seven greeted Kushina while James was cursing at Remus for getting him pregnant again. Poppy on the other hand had said in puzzlement, "you're almost fully dilated. James, how long did you ignore your labor? Remus, get behind him and support him!" Her tone had changed slightly as she asked, "James, what position do you want to give birth in?"

Those standing near Kushina bed could hear not only Remus' soothing whispers, they couldn't hear any words only the sound, but also James' measured breathing. "Hand and knees," James finally declared before he added absently as they heard the sheets rustling, "makes the back hurt less. I'll lie down on my back after the baby's out."

Madam Pomfrey was keeping up a steady murmur of encouragement before she paused and said cheerfully, "you're fully dilated now. When you feel ready begin pushing."

Half an hour later, James yelled at Remus, "that's it, the next child we have you're carrying! I've done this twice now and you've done it nil!"

Kushina began snickering when she had overheard as her Papa absently said, "alright James, whatever you want."

Kisuke glanced at her curiously and she said quietly, "Dad's more then likely going to hold him to that promise."

An hour after that, everyone heard a loud scream before Madam Pomfrey said happily, "congratulations Remus, James, you have a son! Remus hold your son while I prepare the cord to be cut!" A few moment later they all heard cloth rustling before Madam Pomfrey said sternly, "well, what are you waiting for, hand your son over to his mother!"

A few moments afterward, she had flicked open the curtains to find Kushina sitting up in her bed staring at her curiously. The Mediwitch had given a strangled shout of surprise before she asked while holding a hand against her chest, "Kushina, when did you wake up?"

Kushina smiled up at her sheepishly before she said, "right as Dad's water broke." The red haired witch then looked over the Matrons shoulder and called out, "Papa, Dad, what's my baby brother's name?"

James had laughed before he said while handing the baby back over, "Remus, take our son to his sister and introduce them."

Remus took the proffered child before he walked over to his daughter's bedside and as she cradled her brother in her arms he said, "Kushina meet your baby brother, Theodore Remus Lupin-Potter." Kushina stared down into sleepy blue eyes that slowly fluttered shut and felt a pang in her heart that she had never really gotten a chance to watch her newborn son fall asleep.

She handed her brother back to her Papa as she said, "here, take Teddy back to Dad.

Later, after her parents had fallen asleep, Kisuke had needed to return to the Seireitei to take care of matters but he promised to return as soon as he could. As she laid on her bed she remembered how it had felt to hold Naruto for the first time, Minato had been ecstatic that he could hold his son. She cursed Madara silently and schemed of ways to make the rest of his life a living hell.

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Two days later on March sixteenth, Rabastan was talking with Isshin when the twins had come barreling into the room, Yuzu was chattering on about a new spell that they had learned in class as she clutched at his wrist. He listened to her excited chatter, however when he had looked down at her, she had been replaced by an orange haired boy with brown eyes. The boy was beaming up at him, he then heard and felt himself say, "and how was your day, Ichigo?"

He inwardly goggled at that since he knew that the Eldest Kurosaki child was a boy named Ichigo, he was also goggling at the voice that had emerged from his throat, it was the voice of a woman not a man. However, he inwardly twitched when he heard the boy replying to his question by saying, "it was good, mom. Tatsuki beat me again but that okay! Can we get ice cream on the way home," he pleaded with Rabastan.

Rabastan heard a soft chuckle before he heard, "as long as we don't tell your father or sisters and we finish it all before we get home."

"Rabastan! Rabastan, are you alright," he vaguely heard, as he slowly came out of the fog that had engulfed him, he had recognized Yuzu's voice and felt as someone had shaken his shoulder. He glanced over and saw Karin holding onto his left shoulder and staring at him with worry in her eyes, Yuzu looked the same when he glanced over at her. He had then looked up and caught Isshin staring at him with worry clear in his brown eyes, Rabastan had given them a crooked smile before he ruffled the twins hair.

"I'm fine," he reassured them before he commented wryly, "I just got a little lost in my own thoughts that's all."

Isshin sighed in relief before he admonished the ex-death eater, "well try not to do it again."

Rabastan smiled at him again before he ruffled Yuzu's and Karin's hair again as he said, "I'll try not to but I won't make any promises."

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Kisame stared at the vision in front of him before he gulped and ran his gaze up Itachi's new form. Small deceptively delicate feet and ankles that led to long slender, yet well muscled legs. Those legs in turn led to a small yet muscled waist, Kisame cocked his head to the left as he marveled at how large his partner's chest turned out to be. He reached out and spanned Itachi's waist with his hands, gently pulling the dark haired man turned woman close enough to nuzzle at her throat.

Kisame had nipped up Itachi's throat and slowly laved the area just below her ear, he then nibbled, licked, and kissed his way along her jaw line until he reached her lips. He then nipped at Itachi's lower lip as he drew his hands upwards from her waist, the calluses on his hands from his sword use caused her to shiver. After several lazy kisses, the pale eyed man drew back from his younger partner and hesitantly asked, "are you sure about this? We can always wait until Kushina-Sama's has returned permanently to Konoha," he added as he stared into Itachi's dark eyes.

Itachi's eyes had flashed red briefly before she shoved the older nin backwards and straddled his waist as she leaned forward to purr, "I don't want to wait. Aunty Kushina will be returning soon, my Mother is pregnant," she stared down at him before she pouted slightly as she cocked her head to the side. "Unless you don't want to," she had stared down at him without blinking before she asked, "is that it? Do you not want me to have your child?"

At that he growled fiercely while his eyes had flashed and he had gripped her hips hard enough to bruise before he snarled, "that's not it at all!" He had then loosened his grip on her hips before he nuzzled his cheek against hers and let out a shuddering breath. He then said with a growl to his tone, "just the idea of you carrying my child makes me want to not let you out of this bed until you can't walk."

Kisame felt her smirk before he heard her purr throatily, "go right ahead, we don't have anywhere to be for a month after all." He pulled back and stared into her eyes, both were red with her activated Sharingan and he gulped as he noticed them rotating, indicated that his partner was recording everything.

After a few moments he had given her a predatory grin and flipped their positions before he leaned down to nip his way down her chest as he said, "as you command, my dearest crow."

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Fukaku had woken up with a start when his wife suddenly sat up from a sound sleep and cackled for a moment before she muttered as she fell back asleep, "good boy, 'Tachi-Kun." He almost woke her up to ask her what that statement was about but decided against it since she needed her rest due to what was turning out to be a very active pregnancy. Besides if it concerned their eldest son, it more than likely concerned Kisame and he tried very hard not to think of his oldest child having carnal relations with an older man.

 


	23. Chapter Twenty-Two: Dragons, Apparition and Ghosts

**Chapter Twenty-Two:** **Dragons, Apparition and Ghosts!**

Kushina sighed as she walked back to Hogwarts after she had attended Aragog's funeral, thankfully Hagrid had been able to retrieve the dead body with little fuss due to her threat. As she walked to the castle she summoned a few clones to watch over the colony of Acromantula's, so far they had followed her order/threat but you never knew how something would act. She wanted to be prepared if they decided to disregard her warning to them about having her snakes attack and devour them if they dared to attack anyone that belonged to or at Hogwarts. Instead of heading to Gryffindor Tower and her quarters she headed to the second floor, slipped down the slide formed by the drain before she made her way to the false Chamber.

Once she reached the large cavern she had summoned forth more clones before she began to practice her taijutsu against them. She was ducking under punches, elbows and kicks along with throwing her own moves against the large group, every time the group got too low she summoned more to bolster it. She used them to practice using the three instantaneous methods of transport in different battlefield situations, she had allowed her mind to run on auto-pilot. Her ability of letting her body operate separate from her mind during battle had been merely one of the many reasons she had been so feared by the enemies of Konoha. She also had a rather bad habit of thinking aloud when her mind was drifting in battle, something which caused no end of amusement for her fellow leaf ninja.

The first time Sakumo had witnessed it he had started laughing uncontrollably at the look of indignation that had crossed the face of the nuke nin that she had been fighting against. When she had asked him about it he had told her that she had been debating to herself the merits of Miso Ramen verses Pork Ramen, apparently she had decided that Miso was better than Pork. The funniest thing was that unless she was backed up by someone she trusted implicitly she would always remember what her mind had her mouth running on about.

As she continued to fight her clones she idly wondered if her son would develop the same habit she had if he found a person or team he could trust. The only ones she had trusted enough to forget what she was thinking about during battle was Minato and Sakumo, thus by extension she also trusted Rin, Obito and Kakashi. According to the cheetah's reports Naruto was progressing very well in the training plan she had drawn up for him. As she destroyed the rest of her clones she had muttered to herself, "note to self: check on how Naruto is progressing with the sealing scrolls."

She had then stretched before she had left the chamber and went to her quarters in the tower, she then sat down at her desk and began drawing up the lesson plans for her seventh year. She had an odd feeling that her Uncle Isshin would be taking over the 'Shinigami Arts Class' that she had spent the last two years teaching, if it wasn't him then more than likely Isane or Nanao would take it over.

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As the trio walked away from the apparition test area Kushina was smirking smugly to herself as she thought, ' _I knew I'd pass that test with flying colors!'_ She had listened idly as she heard Ron and Hermione talking, "I think learning Shunpo helped with learning how to apparate. Both methods are fairly similar to the other with only minor differences between them," Hermione said as she adjusted the strap of her book bag.

Ron nodded in agreement before he turned to Kushina and asked in a low tone, "have you been by to check on your son since Christmas?" Both him and Hermione knew just how much Kushina missed her son and how much she anticipated finishing her mission in order to go back home to Konoha.

Kushina shook her head before she murmured, "no, I haven't really had much of a chance to go see him." She had then glanced at them both with a small smirk on her face before she said slyly, "however, as soon as classes are over on Friday I'm going to duck out and check on him as well as Mikoto and her clan." She waved at the pair before she split off to head down to Hagrid's where Firenze and Nel were waiting for her to show Nel how to groom a horse. Ron and Hermione waved back before Ron headed toward the lake where Rukia was sitting reading a book while Hermione headed toward the school to find Kenpachi.

The pair were speaking quietly to each other when Kushina neared them, Nel looked up and smiled happily at her before Nel said in a low tone, "good afternoon Kushina-San."

Firenze had canted his head to her and said, "hello little emerald. I assume it is time for Nel's lesson on how to groom horses, unicorns and centaurs…"

Kushina nodded as she said, "yeah, it's that time already. Nel, could you please come with me," she asked as she walked to the new stables that had been built for Hagrid. Kushina then showed Nel where the half-giant kept the grooming materials that he used on the occasional equine that he might have to groom. Once they had collected the tools they walked back out to where the palomino centaur was waiting patiently for them to return from the stable.

As Nel watched Kushina laid down each grooming tool as she did she named it and it's purpose, "the curry brush, it's used on the coat to loosen dirt particles under the coat." She placed the rubber brush down before she then held up as stiff bristled wooden handled brush, "this is the dandy brush. The dandy brush is used to get the loosened dirt out of the coat," again she placed the brush down on the nearby flat rock. She picked up a much softer bristled brush and said as she placed it on the rock, "this is the body brush. It's job is to give the coat a nice healthy shine to it, it's also very soothing for any equine to have it used even if the equine doesn't need to be groomed you can still use it." She had then held up the last two objects, one was a comb the other was a pick with a brush at the other end of it. As she placed the comb down she said, "this is the mane comb, as it name implies it's used on the mane and since Firenze doesn't posses a mane we won't be using it today. This," she held up the pick and brush combo, "is a hoof pick and we will be using it today to clean Firenze hooves, since Firenze tends to run around outside we don't really need to file down his hooves and if he needs to have them filed he can tell us. However he might not realize that his hooves need to be cleaned at all unless we take a good look at them for him."

Kushina picked up the rubber curry brush and placed it against Firenze's coat, Nel watched carefully as Kushina began to gently rub the pale coat in circles. As she did she told Nel, "when grooming any equine you start by using this brush to rub circles in the coat to loosen any dirt under the coat." Kushina did the left side by herself then handed the brush over to Nel and watched as the teal haired Arrancar mimicked her earlier actions on Firenze's right side.

After Firenze's entire coat had been rubbed with the curry brush, Kushina had picked up the dandy brush and demonstrated the flicking motion that was required for the brush to be used effectively. She then allowed Nel a turn with the brush, she carefully led the Arrancar through the motions then stood back to watch the other woman brush out the pale coat. "Go ahead and brush out his tail as well when you're done with his body, start at the bottom of his tail and work your way up to minimize any pain." She said absently while cleaning out the curry brush they had used earlier on the blue eyed centaur.

After Nel had finished brushing out his tail Firenze flicked it slightly causing it two swish playfully, Nel had then set the brush back down on the rock and asked, "what's next?"

Kushina picked up the body brush and tossed it over to her as she said, "use that with firm even strokes over his entire body. Be gentle on his legs though," she warned her friend lightly as she began cleaning out the dandy brush. Nel nodded before she turned to the blond haired centaur and followed Kushina's order, by the time that Nel had finished brushing Firenze's coat he was practically boneless from pleasure.

Kushina had then picked up the hoof pick and began explaining where it was used at on the horse, "got it?" Nel nodded in response and watched as Kushina ran her hand down Firenze's left front leg until she reached his fetlock, once she reached it she squeezed it lightly. That signaled for Firenze to pick up that particular hoof as she preformed those actions she said, "when grooming a horse that's never really been trained make sure you say up, with a centaur or unicorn make sure to ask them to please pick up the hoof you just squeezed." She then took the pick and cleaned around the frog and the sole before she handed the tool over to Nel so she could finish the job on the other three hooves.

Scene Change

Ichigo watched in amusement as his classmates twitched as Byakuya came to pick him up for one of Masaki's scheduled appointments with the doctor. Since Isshin was out of the country at Hogwarts Ryuken had taken over as her primary physician, this was due to the fact that she was, by all technicality, a full blooded Shinigami. When Isshin had run a blood test on a whim he had been startled when her mitochondrial DNA matched Ichigo's, Karin's and Yuzu's perfectly showing that the four of them had a maternal relative in common. While the seven of her genetic markers matched Byakuya's showing that he was the paternal donor of her DNA, the test would hold up in court easily enough, if worse came to worse Kushina volunteered to play the part of surrogate mother since their mitochondrial DNA would match.

Since she'd been born a spirit Isshin hadn't expected the DNA to match at all due to her being in a gigai that Kisuke had made for her to use in the living world for the examination. "Then again," Isshin had later commented, "I should have known that Kisuke would have thought of all eventualities."

Ichigo held back a laugh as he remembered the reactions of his teachers and classmates to the first time that Byakuya had got him out of school for one of Masaki's appointments. When Ichigo hadn't argued with the older man, most of them had assumed that he was Ichigo's older cousin not husband since shortly after Masaki had been born Ichigo had given Byakuya one of the bonding rings of the Noir family, he had already been wearing one himself. The nobleman had simply put on the ring without asking what it was for, at least he didn't ask until the rings flashed white for a brief second. Ichigo had to explain that the rings had merely sensed that the pair were bonded and was merely signaling it's acceptance of the Lord Noir's chosen mate.

The rings had transformed into the Lordship ring, only a few minor differences on Byakuya's showed that he was Lord Noir's spouse and not Lord Noir himself. Unknown to the steel eyed noble Ichigo had requested the goblins to create a Lordship ring for the Kuchiki clan. The ring would be able to sense the worthiness of the proposed Head and depending upon what it sensed would either accept or reject the offered Head. If it rejected the candidate then the ring could be tried by the next candidate until it finally accepted a new Head for the clan.

Flash Back

"Pardon me," a smooth voice cut in and the talking between the teachers ceased, they looked up to see a tall man wearing an expensive looking suit standing in the doorway. He had a regal air about him that wasn't even diminished by the fact that he had an infant settled easily into the crook of his right arm. He absently soothed the child as it squirmed in it's sleep before he asked, "where is Ichigo Kurosaki? He is required to be at a doctor's appointment today," the man explained absently as he adjusted the now wide awake child so that it could look around if it wanted to.

Ichigo's homeroom teacher licked her lips nervously before she said, "he usually takes his lunch up on the rooftop with his friends and some other students."

The man nodded in thanks before he said, "thank you. Could you please mark him as gone for the rest of the day? I do not know how long the appointment will run for once we reach the office." The teachers nodded numbly in response, after the man had left they idly wondered who he was and why hadn't Isshin come to pick his son up for the appointment.

Everyone on the rooftop looked over when the door leading back down to the school opened. Only three of the group of students recognized the dark haired man and infant standing there before Tatsuki could ask just who he was Ichigo had stood up with a soft smile. The smile had caused quite a few of the students to goggle at the orange haired boy in shock, Tatsuki had stared as they all heard Ichigo greet him, "hey Byakuya." What caused them to all gawk even more was how Ichigo had plucked the baby out of the mans arms and had crooned to it, "how's my angel today?"

Byakuya's eyes had softened as he watched Ichigo crooning to their daughter before he remarked with a smirk, "she's behaved very well…Much unlike her mother would have," he added slyly.

Ichigo looked up with his brown eyes flashing before he smirked back at the older man, "I have no idea what you're talking about. I think her mother is perfectly sweet and well behaved, after all her mother has yet to yell at the Kuchiki council for their idiocy." With that the orange haired boy waved goodbye to his friends before he walked downstairs. He called out over his shoulder, "I'm assuming you're here to pick me up for the doctor's appointment scheduled for today."

Byakuya had nodded a farewell as he said softly, "it's good to see you again, Chad, Uryu. Uryu, please give your cat my regards and well wishes. Chad, a certain Sake-loving person wanted me to give you a kiss for them but you'll understand if I refrain from doing so." Uryu had nodded at the comment about his cat and ignored the odd looks he had gained from his fellow students while Chad blushed as he nodded in response to the comment directed at him. When Ichigo had commented about the appointment Byakuya had said back, "of course. I'm not about to let you get out of being there for the appointment," after another nod to the two boys the noble turned around and left the roof. The other students attempted to interrogate the pair of boys but the archer and musician resolutely ignored them all as they finished eating their lunches.

End Flash Back

Of course the first time that Byakuya had allowed Yoruichi and Soifon to baby-sit Masaki so the pair could have some alone time had swiftly disabused them all of the notion that Byakuya was a relative. Ichigo's brown eyes gained a glint of amber in them as he fondly reminisced about it, the only three not surprised had been Chad, Uryu and Tatsuki. The martial artist had cornered the other two and badgered them until they answered her questions concerning Byakuya and Ichigo. According to Uryu she had gaped at them for several moments before she had muttered to herself, "strangely enough it does make a lot of sense when you think about it."

Flash Back

Several girls near the windows were giggling as they gossiped quietly, Ichigo noticed that they would sigh after they snuck quick looks out the windows. He casually glanced down out of the windows, his eyes had widened when he saw Byakuya leaning up against one of the trees. The noble was wearing black jeans, dark boots and a tee-shirt with the saying of 'I can only please so many people per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either.' Kushina had given him that shirt when she had found out about how he had told off the Kuchiki Clan council about Ichigo. When asked as to why she'd given him the gift she had said, "that council reminds me of the Village council of Konoha."

After the bell rang to signal the end of school, Ichigo and the other had made their way outside, the girls of the school had all stood back, admiring the older man from afar. Since he was putting off vibes that screamed, 'you're not worth my time much less worthy of the right to touch me!' However Ichigo resolutely ignored the vibe since he knew that he and Masaki along with Rukia were among the few people that Byakuya truly cared about pleasing.

To the surprise of the onlookers Byakuya smiled down at the teenager softly before he greeted him by saying, "hello Ichigo, how was your day?"

Ichigo had laughed before he said with a smile, "pretty good actually. Is Masaki settled all nice and safe with Yoruichi and Soifon?" The older Shinigami nodded so Ichigo smiled impishly up at him as he asked slyly, "so that means we'll be all alone for the weekend…"

At that most of the students gaped at the pair in shock, especially when Byakuya had only chuckled before he nodded. He had then smirked before he had reached out to grasp the teen by the hips, he pulled the unresisting man so their bodies were flush together. Tatsuki's eyes had widened a bit at the sight of Byakuya moving his right hand up Ichigo's back to bury it in the orange spikes while his left had migrated from the hip to Ichigo's lower back. The rather intimate position had caused students and teachers alike to gawk in surprise, their expressions had become even more dumbfounded when Ichigo tangled the fingers of his right hand in the ink black locks of his captor. Although could someone really be called a captive when they were more than willing to be captured.

Some of the girls let out startled gasps when the older man allowed Ichigo to pull him downward for a deeply and intensely involved kiss. As the pair continued to kiss, their audience gaped in shock at the sight of the usually closed off Ichigo Kurosaki giving an unknown man a rather passionate kiss. Uryu had rolled his eyes after several minutes before he made a show of glancing at his watch before he yelled at the pair, "Ichigo! I think five minutes is long enough for a 'hello' kiss. So stop kissing your husband, come grab your bag and leave for whatever Byakuya had planned for this romantic weekend of yours!"

Ichigo blushed lightly as he pulled away from the kiss to yell back at the blue eyed archer, "oh go pet your cat!"

Uryu sniffed haughtily before he threw the other teens bag at him as he said, "I fully plan to. I also plan to take him for a walk and some exercise, then before we go home I'm going to pick up some food for my finicky cat." With that said the bespectacled teen turned around and left the yard to head for his home.

Ichigo had caught the bag with a lazy smirk before he looked over at Chad and Tatsuki as he said, "I'll see the two of you on Monday. I'm afraid I'll be too busy during the weekend to see you," he pointedly ignored the muttered comment of, 'I have plans for us. Of course you'll be too busy to see them,' that Byakuya had made no effort to try to keep quiet.

End Flash Back

The orange haired man heard his daughter giggling and looked up to see his husband staring down at him bemusedly with their daughter in his arms before he asked, "do you need more time to think or are you ready to go?"

Ichigo scowled playfully up at him before he got to his feet, plucked their daughter out of her fathers arms and left the room. "Let's go already, times a wasting," the younger man called out over his shoulder. Byakuya had smirked as he followed his spouse leaving the students and teachers behind, most of them had gotten used to the regal looking man coming to get Ichigo by now.

*****************************************************

Meanwhile in a small inn on the outskirts of a small village, a raven haired woman was leaning over a toilet while a blue skinned man rubbed her back soothingly. After she had finished retching he handed her a cup of water so she could rinse the acidic taste out of her mouth. "Thanks Kisame," she muttered gratefully as she got up from the floor with his help, the shark-like man hovered worriedly as she made her way back to the bed.

As she laid back down he leaned over and ran the back of his fingers down her right cheek as he said, "I'll go see if anyone in this village knows what's good to help a pregnant woman's morning sickness."

At that she muttered as she closed her eyes, "Mom drinks some type of tea and crackers are supposed to help somehow…" He smiled indulgently down at her before he gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead, he then stood up and used a henge to change his appearance. Although this particular village was made up of civilians a man that looked like a shark tended to attract attention and talked about often after he left. He had taken the appearance of a man in his mid thirties with short black hair and ice blue eyes, his clothes now resembled a common travelers. In other words, his pants stayed the same minus the wraps and pouches while his fishnet shirt changed to a regular tunic, on his left ring finger a plain band appeared.

Kisame wandered the market place at a loss as to where to find the tea that Itachi had spoken of, he had already purchased crackers as well as other rations. Eventually he wandered into an herbal shop, upon noticing the lost expression on the mans face the young lady behind the counter asked, "can I help you?"

Kisame turned to her and said, "I hop you can. My wife is pregnant and her mother would drink a tea to help calm her morning sickness when she was pregnant with my wife's younger brother." He bit his lower lip lightly before he said sheepishly, "however neither my wife nor I remember what the name of the tea is or what it consists of. Can you recommend something that will help calm her morning sickness," he asked with pleading eyes.

The young woman smiled happily before she had nodded, "I believe I can help you." She had reached under the counter, she pulled out a bag, a jar and a pad of paper. She then began to measure out different herbs, as she did she had written out the name and each measurement on the pad of paper before she placed it into the bag. After she had done that she placed a large section of fresh gingerroot into the jar, she wrote out instructions on the pad of paper before folding the piece and placing it into the jar with the gingerroot. She had noticed that he was wearing traveling clothes and had rations, assuming correctly that he and his wife would be leaving the village soon. Thus the reason she was writing down the ingredients of the mixture so the next time he had to buy the tea he'd know exactly what to get.

As she sealed the bag and jar she said, "a single cup of Ginger tea before bed should ensure that she doesn't wake up with nausea. If she feels nauseous during the daytime she should drink a single cup of the other tea, she can take up to three cups of that tea a day but she should only drink two cups of the ginger tea per day." Kisame nodded quickly while he made a mental note to himself concerning the dosage as he paid for the tea and added the package to his bundles. He would later seal all of his purchases into scrolls after he had reached their rooms and had dosed Itachi with the tea to see if it would help any.

When he returned to their room he found Itachi exactly as he had left him- _ **her**_ , he winced as he remembered the lecture that Itachi had given him when he had almost slipped once and referred to the now female Uchiha as a man. He had requested at the front desk for a pot of hot water to be delivered to his room so he could make his wife some tea. A few moments after he had returned he heard a soft knock on the door of their room. It was a testament of Itachi's trust in Kisame that all she had done in response to the gentle knock was to roll over and place her hand on the hilt of the kunai hidden under her pillow. Kisame opened the door to see a young woman standing with her head bowed and offering up a tray with a tea pot to him, "your hot water as requested, sir."

Kisame took the offered tray from her and said kindly, "thank you, little miss, that was all I needed." The young woman bowed to him again before she left quickly, she had obviously interpreted his words as a dismissal. Kisame had then closed the door and locked it before replacing the seals on it, he then went about preparing the tea he'd gotten for his partner who was now staring at him sleepily. After the tea had finished steeping Kisame had given a cup to his mate, who took a sip of it before she drank it all down, Itachi had then handed the cup to the ex-mist nin. Kisame had set the cup down on the table beside the bed before he crawled into it so he could lay next to his dozing mate. He carded his fingers through the dark hair and idly listened to her contented murmurings.

*****************************************************

Grimmjow watched from his position where he was sprawled out on a picnic blanket as Uryu drew an arrow from his quiver and cocked it before he fired it at his target. It took all of the blue panthers self-control to keep himself from jumping the archer, Uryu had decided to practice his aim right after the pair had finished swimming and was thus clad only in his swim trunks. Before the pair had decided to swim Uryu had sparred with the now lazing hollow, Grimmjow was still in his resurreccion state, although he had dispensed with his armor. His ears were pricked with interest and his tail swayed hypnotically from a side to side as he watched the muscles in Uryu's back, shoulders and arms flexing as he pulled the arrow taut before he released it to fly at it's target.

The archer was perfectly aware of his audience as could be seen by the mild blush on his face and the occasional glance at the reclining cat as he fired arrow after arrow at his targets. He was using regular arrows and bow instead of his spiritual version since he needed to keep his equipment properly maintained. The bow had been in his family since before the first Quincy of his line had emerged into being, his father had given him the bow and quiver since he himself had absolutely no interest in archer save his Quincy abilities.

Uryu on the other hand, loved archery although when he had found out that a Quincy's arrows completely destroyed a hollows soul he had asked Kisuke to make him a set of arrows that would function like a Zanpakuto. Kisuke eventually presented the teen with a quiver full of arrows that acted like Zanpakuto as well as arrows tipped with a flat head inscribed with the seal that Shinigami used to do soul burials. The first time one of the souls that Uryu had preformed Konso on ended up in the Rukongai and a Shinigami heard that a boy dressed in white had sent them there the Gotei had been puzzled until Kisuke stepped forward and told them about the arrows he had made for the boy.

Although the rest of the Captains had been startled they had approved that Uryu was making sure that he wouldn't be destroying a soul to rescue other souls, especially since Ichigo had been stuck in the Seireitei until Kisuke could finish his genjutsu bracelet. Of course Byakuya had immediately panicked at the thought of Ichigo fighting hollows while pregnant but Ichigo had told him that he'd take Uryu as back up if he had to fight at all. The then brunette girl had muttered to Uryu, "if he keeps this up I'm going to sneak off to go visit Kukaku and Ganju in the Rukongai or challenge the eleventh division to a sparring match. I'm not a damsel in distress or has he conveniently forgotten how I beat the crap out of him with my Bankai," she had asked rhetorically.

Uryu had fired five more shots before his quiver was empty, Kushina had inscribed a seal onto the quiver that allowed it to retrieve all spent arrows thus ensuring that Uryu would be able to retrieve all of the ammo he'd used. The blue eyed teen allowed the bow to relax before he activated the seal causing all the arrows to reappear in the quiver, he had then removed the leather object before he placed it and the bow near his bag. He had smiled fondly at the way that Grimmjow had sprawled out on the blanket, the panther based Arrancar flicked an ear idly as he asked, "all done with your practicing?"

Uryu had snorted lightly as he had plopped down onto the blanket beside the muscled man already lounging lazily on the ground, he was amused when all that Grimmjow did in response was to pull the teen closer to him. Uryu began running his fingers through the blue locks causing the cat-like hollow to begin purring, the archer gently rubbed at the base of the twitching ears and scratching at his scalp. As he had scratched the Arrancar's scalp Uryu had felt the pinpricks of claws on his thighs as Grimmjow all but curled up in the archers lap. After several moments of doing that Grimmjow's purrs had changed to a rather husky growl.

He pretended not to notice the growl nor the way the claws pricked at his thighs before relaxing only to tighten again. When the blue haired hollow had realized that the archer knew what he had been doing to him Grimmjow growled, "stop teasing me. Or I'll stop bothering to control my instincts," he added as a menacing warning.

However, Uryu had spoken to the other Arrancars about courtships as well as to Kushina since her own animagus form was that of a cat, the fiery haired woman had pointed him in the direction of her godfather. The raven haired wizard had blinked at the odd question but he had readily supplied the answer to the young archers dilemma as best he could. Thus when Grimmjow had tried to get the teen to stop all that he got in response was to have Uryu lean down and whisper huskily in his ear before he disappeared from sight, "if you really want me to stop then catch and make me stop."

Uryu raced through the forest barely staying a step ahead of the blue eyed Arrancar, eventually he perched on top of a tree and watched as Grimmjow stopped just below him. As he watched the older male he remembered what Severus had told him, "if Jaegerjaquez is anything like my animagus form he will see a chase as an invitation to play. If you wish to accept both the courtship and mating bond, allow him to bite here," Severus had tapped at the junction where the shoulder met the neck. "More than likely he'll infuse the bite with his poser, I don't know if it'll scar but it will serve to not only warn people that can sense such things to leave you alone and keep you unharmed. Cats are protective of their mates, oh the muggle ones aren't that protective but they will fight over them, if you accept him then I suspect that you will have gained a fiercely loyal and extremely protective mate."

Uryu watched breathlessly as he felt his anticipation spike, Grimmjow tilted his head up to look at the sky before he closed his eyes and sniffed, scenting the air for traces of the Quincy's trail. Uryu gasped in a breath when Grimmjow vanished from the clearing below him only to reappear on the limb before him. However, Uryu merely smirked at the older being before he darted forward to press a chaste kiss on the hollows left cheek before he vanished leaving a grumbling panther behind. Grimmjow eventually found the archer standing in the middle of a clearing, he was still clad only in his swim trunks, staring up at the starry sky.

The panther quickly pounced, he tackled the archer to the ground before he panted in the teens ear, "I caught you but I suppose the question becomes…What am I supposed to do with you now that I've caught you," he purred out the question into the Quincy's ear. He was straddling the archers hips while holding both of the slim yet strong wrists in a single hand pinning them to the ground. His long blue hair was plastered to his sweat slicked body, and he idly flicked a few errant locks from his eyes as he stared down a the trapped teen.

Uryu had stared up at the Arrancar in wide eyed amazement before they had darkened in color, he arched beneath the weight of his captor ostensibly trying to escape from his hold. However, the movement had only caused the reaction the archer had actually been trying to bring about, since Grimmjow's gaze darkened while the already snug grip around his wrists tightened even further and Uryu's favorite. The movement had caused the already touching bodies to be forced closer together which allowed the archer to feel the Arrancars twitch of interest. Grimmjow had closed his eyes before he growled out to the slim hipped teen, "you're playing with fire. Be careful or you'll get burned," blue eyes locked with blue.

Uryu grinned up at the panther before he leaned upward and laughed breathlessly as he asked playfully, "what if I want to get burned? What if I want you to consume me, devour me, claim me…Mate me?" At each vocalization Grimmjow's eyes had widened until the last proposal passed Uryu's lips, the Arrancar's shock from those words had allowed Uryu to remove his wrists from the hollows grip. However all he did was to bury his hands wrist deep into the blue hair of the being on top of him before he canted his head to the right and tugged the panther down so his face was buried in the space proffered to him.

Unconsciously, the older being scented the other, however, all he could smell was lust, anticipation, eagerness and love, nothing in the scent indicated that the archer was afraid, nervous or unwilling to be his mate. Actually, going by scent alone he would say that his long courtship of the archer had paid off and he would have him for the rest of time. He didn't bother asking if the archer was sure since he knew that Uryu would take the question not as it was, concern, but instead would take it to mean that Grimmjow didn't believe that Uryu knew his own mind. So all he did was bare his fangs after he had pressed a gentle kiss to the spot he was about to mark before he drove the needle sharp teeth through the yielding flesh.

Uryu gasped as he felt Grimmjow infuse the bite with his Reiatsu as he drew that flat of his tongue across the bite, the vibrations from the hollows purr caused the lick to tingle almost to the point that he hadn't noticed the energy seeping into the wound. He felt the incisions caused by the sharp teeth heal and as it did he idly wondered if there would be a mark left behind or if his skin would remain smooth, without a scar to mar his flesh. He had a feeling that even if he didn't have a scar Grimmjow would make sure that everyone knew that he was most definitely off the market, for good.

When Grimmjow had pulled back so he could stare into Uryu's eyes he was startled when the archer had smirked at him before he quipped, "I do hope you didn't think that you're the only one that would be doing all the claiming around here." Grimmjow's eyes widened when Uryu tightened the grip he had on the Arrancar's hair before he used the hold to pull himself up and set his teeth into the junction formed by the hollows left shoulder and neck. Uryu didn't bite down instead he merely held himself in position, it was his way of asking the hollow if he could claim the panther as his own. The tension in the archer disappeared when Grimmjow became pliant in his arms and arched his neck further as he purred his acceptance of Uryu's claim over him.

Uryu's blue eyes had gleamed in pleasure as he bit down until he tasted copper, he then dragged the flat of his tongue, after having coated it in his own Reiatsu, over the wound that his teeth had caused. The combination of his tongue and Reiatsu cause the purr emanating from Grimmjow's throat to escalate in volume as well as cadence. When the Quincy pulled back to inspect his work he had been surprised to find a tattoo where he had bitten the hollow. The tattoo consisted of a blue Quincy cross, a spiritual bow and arrow on one side of the cross while on the other side was a sword with the tip pointing upward. As he traced the mark he idly wondered just what his mark looked like, "so what does your mark look like," Grimmjow asked lazily as the teenager traced the cross. "My mark looks like a blue panther wearing a mask wrapped around a striped animal, I don't know what it is. It doesn't look like a cat nor a dog, it doesn't even really resemble a wolf," the Arrancar rambled.

Uryu hummed to himself for a few moments before he described the tattoo to the blue haired Arrancar, "the cross is for my heritage as a Quincy while the bow and arrow either represent my power or is a symbol of my soul since that is the form that my power takes. However, I have no clue what the sword represents unless it's supposed to represent you," he suggested idly.

Grimmjow shrugged lazily at the suggestion before he murmured, "who knows… I can think of better things to do than speculate what our new marks mean," he said as he drew back slightly so he could stare heatedly at the prone teenager. Said teenager merely stared back bemusedly before he had flipped them over so he was straddling the panther before he leaned down and began to devour the hollows mouth. When they pulled away from each other to catch their breath and regain their bearings Grimmjow muttered, "that's what I had planned to suggest we do amongst other things…" The entire time he had been talking his hands had not once ceased their insistent wandering of the younger mans partially clad form. The hands had run over lean muscles covering slight yet strong bones under delicate looking skin.

Uryu huffed a laugh at the muttered comment before he said, "can I help it if great minds think alike," as he ran his own hands over the muscles in the sharply defined arms and stomach of his captive. He had smirked at he way the hollow groaned as he ran blunt nails down the washboard chest and abdominals. Uryu had then leaned down and he whispered huskily in the panther's right ear, "so now that you've claimed me, how about we get around to you mating me…"

Grimmjow's eyes had widened in shock before they narrowed in lust and he purred back, "if that is what you wish for, my Uryu. Then I will mate you until you cannot sit down without thinking of me and everyone who glimpses you will know that your mate satisfied all of your needs."

Uryu purred as best as he could at the thought before he said while Grimmjow leaned upward and nipped along his jugular, "good. Now get to it," the Quincy gasped out demandingly as the hollow had paused to suckle a few hickies into existence on his neck.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Friday night saw Kushina leaving Hogwarts and sneaking into Konoha, she had been pleased to note that the defenses of the village had much improved from the last time she'd visited. Idly she wondered what Tsunade's reaction would be to finding out that her grandparents reincarnations not to mention that her granduncle was now older than her grandfather instead of the other way around. Of course she also wondered how the village would react to having six more members of the Senju can if Tsunade decided to adopt the three reincarnated people into the clan since if she adopted Isshin she also adopted his three children and any of their spouses or children. From the Kurosaki family she'd gain Yuzu and her mate, Karin and Toshiro, Ichigo and Byakuya along with their daughter Masaki not to mention Isshin himself, that was eight members alone.

She shook her head as she reached Naruto's apartment and entered the window, Naruto eagerly tackled the dragon masked woman after she'd entered the living room, "Ryuu-Okasan!"

Kushina had laughed before she ruffled his hair and asked, "how have you been? Are you making any progress on the sealing scrolls?" As she had questioned him she'd walked further into the room, she was making mental notes on how Naruto seemed to be in the middle of studying when she had arrived.

Naruto pouted slightly at the hair ruffling but beamed at the question, "I've been alright, the academy exams are going to take place in three months so I'm been preparing for them." As he had explained he gestured at the scroll strewn room, "I've have only gotten two of the five scrolls memorized," he added with a stubborn frown.

Kushina had snorted before she asked him idly, "which pair have you memorized?" Naruto held up two scrolls and the red haired woman gaped at her son in shock before she asked in a forced calm tone, "what made you memorize those first?"

Naruto blinked a bit before he said while he set the scrolls down, "they seemed to be the most interesting. Why do you ask, Ryuu-Okasan?"

Kushina faceplamed before she said wryly, "maybe because those scrolls are the most difficult to memorize and perform. Most of your clan would never even attempt to try!" She shook her head as she muttered, "you are most definitely your parents son, as reckless and stubborn as them both!" Naruto beamed at her when she muttered that to herself, he liked hearing how much he had resembled his parents. She then ruffled his hair again before she said, "I think you'll find the other three scrolls much easier to commit to memory, little one."

"Okay, Ryuu-Okasan, if you say so," Naruto said as he put the five sealing scrolls away.

She snorted in amusement before she said in a falsely stern tone, "I do say so!" She then adopted a more serious manner before she inquired, "how do you think you're going to do on your exam?"

Naruto sighed as he began putting away his study materials before he said with a pout, "as long as clones aren't part the test it'll be easy!" At her questioning glance he sighed before he said, "I suck at clones and not matter how many chakra control exercises I do the clones always look dead or sick."

Kushina sighed before she said thoughtfully, "tell you what, I'll teach you another clone jutsu. It's a forbidden jutsu, so when you use it for the first time I want you to mention that the cheetah's taught it to you. Alright," she stared at him until he nodded at her command.

She led him out the window toward the Forest of Death and after they had reached the area she led him through the technique step by step until he successfully summoned more than fifty clones. During the time it had taken for him to successfully summon the clones, sunset had already come and gone since the sky was dark as well as filled with stars. So all she said when he finally managed the jutsu was, "congratulations. However, you need to go to bed, after all, you've got a lot of studying to do if you're going to pass your exam."

She had then ushered him home and made sure he was tucked sound asleep into bed before she began to poke around the village. Kakashi was sleeping soundly while surrounded by his Ninken, the Inuzuka were also sleeping soundly, Kiba and Akumaru were snoring slightly in their sleep. While she was checking on Genma, Raido, Izumo and Kotetsu, she felt a kunai at her throat. Silently she cursed herself for allowing her guard to slip enough that her little dolphin could catch her. "Well, well, well. What have I caught here… A spy perhaps," her captor murmured near her jaw line.

Kushina smirked mentally and decided abruptly to play with his mind a bit, her captor had flared his chakra enough to alert the four she'd been watching. Once the four emerged outside she had hissed a soft command directed at the mask she wore. "Return to the box my mask," it vanished as if she had never been wearing it at all. To the five Konoha nin she had merely been expressing frustration at being caught, at least that's what they thought until the managed to glimpse her smirk. She looked up through her bangs at the four in front of her before she glanced over her shoulder, Iruka gaped in shock when he glimpsed grey eyes framed by crimson hair and set in a familiar face. She laughed lightly before she said, "well done, little dolphin. But, I'm afraid that although you've caught me fair and square, you won't be allowed to keep me."

Unknown to the five ninja, Kushina had begun to wrap her body in shadows, until all that was left visible was her eyes before they too vanished from sight. To the five onlookers it appeared as if she had simply vanished from sight, the only things that lingered in the air was her scent and a whisper. "I'm glad that everyone is alright, I'll check up on you all when I can. By the way Iruka, could you deliver some messages for me, check your pockets for them."

Iruka dropped the hand holding the Kunai and patted down his pockets, he was startled to find a packet of letters addressed to various people. Four were addressed to him, four more to Kakashi Hatake, two each for Izumo, Kotetsu, Genma and Raido. The Hokage also had two addressed to him as well as two red letters addressed to the village council and another red letter addressed to Jiraiya.

Iruka idly wondered what the significance of the red envelopes were before he decided that he really didn't need to know after he considered who had sent them. He handed the other four ninja their letters as he said, "we'll report this to the Hokage after we read our letters." The other four nodded before they opened their letters and began reading them, Iruka opened his letters and read them silently one right after the other.

' _Hey Iruka,_

_Just to let you know, you have a certain silver haired Hound after you. If you already know... oh well I thought you should know._

_Your old pranking partner,_

_Kushina Uzumaki_

_P.S. Thanks for looking after Naruto for me._

_Dear Dolphin,_

_Hey kiddo, glad to hear that you are well, did you raise any hell after me and Kushina died? I hope you did, the village really needed to learn to relax after all._

_Your old pranking partners husband,_

_Minato Namikaze_

_P.S. I agree with Kushina, thanks for looking after Naruto for us._

_Dear Umino-san,_

_Break Kakashi-Kun's heart and you'll have to face me after you die._

_Sincerely,_

_Rin Nohara of Team Minato_

_Teammate of Kakashi Hatake and Obito Uchiha_

_Iruka Umino,_

_I **F YOU EVER MAKE KAKA-TEME CRY I'LL MAKE YOU WISH IT WAS GAI YOU WERE FACING! GOT ME?**_

_Obito Uchiha_

_Number one loudest Uchiha!'_ Iruka's eyes widened in shock then he twitched slightly as he realized that he had just received semi-threatening letters from the dead concerning him breaking Kakashi's heart. He had inwardly snorted at the idea that the perverted Jounin would even contemplate him as a bed partner much less a life partner. He had looked over at the other four and cocked an eyebrow at them before he asked slyly, "who's ready to see what these do?" He held up the howlers, of course he had no idea that the red letters were called howlers, the others nodded in agreement.

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The next morning, the Hokage read over his letter and eyed the red letters warily before he plucked the two letters from the desk. He had then walked down the hallway to the council chambers followed by the five ninja who reported having seen Kushina Uzumaki in the village last night. Once they had entered the room they were startled when the two letters flew out of the Hokage's hands and one of them burst open to form a mouth. It bellowed out the contents in a familiar voice:

**" _HOW DARE YOU TRY THAT WITH MY SON! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, I'LL MAKE YOU WISH THAT YOU WERE FACING THE KING OF THE SHINIGAMI AFTER DESPOILING HIS FAVORED DAUGHTER! MARK MY WORDS IF I EVER COME BACK TO KONOHA YOU HAD BETTER PRAY FOR MERCY!"_**

While they were trying to recover from the ringing induced by the first howler the second had opened and the voice that it unleashed cause everyone to pale in shock.

" ** _I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO DISAPPOINTED AND DISGUSTED WITH A DECISION BEFORE BUT THIS TAKES THE CAKE! IF I EVER GET PERMISSION TO RETURN TO THE VILLAGE THERE ARE GOING TO BE SOME MAJOR CHANGES TAKING PLACE AND THAT IS A PROMISE THAT I WILL KEEP!"_**

Meanwhile outside some hot springs in Tea country a white haired man was giggling as he wrote in a notebook, a hawk landed nearby. It took off with a startled shriek when the red letter it was carrying detached itself and it formed a mouth to allow two voices to begin yelling in chorus.

**" _JIRAIYA! HOW DARE YOU FORGET YOUR DUTIES AS GODFATHER! YOU HAD BETTER HAVE A GOOD EXCUSE AS TO WHY YOU DIDN'T TAKE CARE OF NARU-CHAN WHEN WE GET A HOLD OF YOU! AND STOP PEEPING INTO HOTSPRINGS YOU OLD PERVERTED TOAD SAGE!"_**

At the last words of the howler Jiraiya scowled at the remains of the letter and yelled, "I'm a Super pervert not just an ordinary pervert and don't call me a perverted sage!"

He had then felt glares directed at his back and looked uneasily over his shoulder to find all of the lovely women from the hot spring glaring at him. He gulped before he ran away while thinking to himself, _'if that was Kushina and Minato I'd better start getting my explanation ready. Why do I have a feeling that the village council will rue the day that they forced the old man to send me to spy outside of the village…'_

While the village council was convening Kakashi was sitting on his front porch reading his letters and ignoring Gai as he was going on and on about the Spring Time of Youth! As he read the letters he goggled in shock and thought to himself, _'I really need to start paying attention to my surroundings in my sleep…'_ He read the letters over again this time aloud, " _Dear Scarecrow-Chan!_

_Hello! Just to let you know you are so cute when you're asleep! I wanted to pinch your cheeks you were so cute, all surrounded by your little Ninken!_

_Your adoring teacher,_

_Kushina Uzumaki_

_P.S. Did I mention you looked cute when your asleep?"_ He paused for a moment as he made a face before he muttered, "really Kushina-Okasan, do you have to mention how cute you find me so many times…" He shook his head before he continued to read the rest of the letters aloud, " _Dear Kakashi-Kun,_

_I'm glad that you are fine, I send my condolences about my wife's attitude. She's been squealing about how cute you are with your crush on Iruka-Kun. Do me a favor and try to keep Naruto out of too much trouble, okay?_

_Your old Sensei,_

_Minato Namikaze,_ " Kakashi scowled down at the letter before he said heatedly, "of course I'll look after Naruto!" He grumbled incoherently to himself as he began reading the other two letters, " _Dear Kakashi-San,_

_I must concur with Minato-Sensei and say that I'm glad to hear you are well, however , I must say that Obito and I miss you even if Obito refuses to say it aloud. I, too, must send my condolences about Uzumaki-Taicho, by the way if this Dolphin breaks your heart know that I will make sure he pays for it._

_Your old teammate,_

_Rin Nohara,_ " Kakashi stared at the letter with a soft look on his face before he muttered, "thanks Rin. I miss you guys too, take care of Obito will you and keep him out of trouble, okay?" He looked away from the letters for a moment before he switched Rin's letter with Obito's and read it aloud, " _Dear Kaka-Teme,_ " he paused in the middle of reading the letter and said with a mild twitch, "still calling me a Teme, Dobe…" He snorted in amusement before he began to read the rest of the letter aloud, " _IF THIS UMINO BREAKS YOUR HEART I'LL BREAK HIS LEGS!_ " He blinked at the words that Obito had written and muttered, "dear god Obito, I know that I'm your friend and all but that's a bit too violent of a reaction to someone breaking another persons heart…"

He shook his head and began reading the rest of the letter, " _Sorry I had to get that out, seriously though Kaka-Teme if he hurts you he'll wish that it was Gai and a flowery speech he was facing and not me! And that's a promise, I guarantee it, I'll find a way to come back to make him pay._

_Your old rival and teammate,_

_Obito Uchiha,_ " Kakashi smiled fondly at the letter and looked up at the sky as he said softly, "thanks guys. I wish you could come back too, if for no other reason then to make the rest of the village goggle in shock at seeing 'Lazy Kakashi Hatake' crying and laughing while berating you all for dying on him. The only thing that would shock them more is if my Dad came back to the village alive and well, only to be pissed off at how his Partners son was treated for years…" He scratched himself on the back of his head before he turned to his Ninken and said cheerfully, "not like that will ever happen, right guys?" His Ninken just stared at him while they thought to themselves, ' _I don't know about that, after all some of the things you've joked about have happened…'_ They then collectively shuddered as they remember about a joke that their master had made before a mission and the joke had actually come true so they hated it when he joked about something before going on a mission.


	24. Chapter Twenty-Three: Of Surprises and Past Lives

**Chapter Twenty-Three:** **Of Past Lives and Surprises**

* * *

 

Kushina reappeared just outside of a small village near the Uchiha village, she laughed at the idea of the village council's reaction to getting a howler from her and Kisuke. He had remembered just enough of his life as Minato to know that the council had disregarded his final wishes, after several moments she left the village and headed toward the Uchiha village. After she arrived at the village she made her way toward Fukaku and Mikoto's house, she wasn't surprised to find her old teammate awake, the other two times she'd been pregnant she would have intermittent insomnia.

Mikoto looked up and started in surprise to find Kushina in full ANBU garb without her mask, "where's your mask at," the raven haired woman asked curiously before she ate a ginger snap. "And what brings you by," she added absently as she finished off the cookie.

Kushina plopped down next to her pregnant friend and picked up a cookie to nibble on as she said, "I got caught checking up on everyone by a certain little dolphin so I decided to play with his mind a little." At that Mikoto laughed lightly as she looked at her old friend in amusement, Kushina continued by saying, "when I made my escape from his clutches I ended up near here so I decided to come see how you all had been doing since Christmas."

Mikoto smirked at her before she said, "the clan has been fine, however," she paused for a moment as she bit her lower lip worriedly, "no one has seen or heard from Itachi nor Kisame for a month now. Normally we at least hear about a sighting of the pair or they drop by if they're in in the area… I'm starting to get a little worried about them…"

Kushina frowned slightly before she said, "that is unusual… Tell you what, I'll send out my clones to do a search for them."

Mikoto sighed in relief before she smiled at her gratefully as she said, "thanks, Kushina."

The red haired woman shrugged as she stood up and said wryly, "no problem, he is my godson after all." She then summoned 50 clones and gave them all orders of, "search for Itachi and/or Kisame. Before you dispel have a cheetah or snake bring you to Hogwarts so I get the information." The clones all nodded in understanding before they left. Kushina then turned to Mikoto and said brightly, "I'll let you know the result of the search. However, I better get back to the school before someone notices I'm gone."

Mikoto nodded and waved goodbye as Winky transported the crimson haired witch back to Hogwarts. "See you later," she called out before she ate another cookie.

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As she walked down the stairs from the seventh floor Kushina was surprised to hear Ichigo's voice coming from the nearby classroom. Curious as to who he was talking to she snuck up on her cousin and his companion. "Is is possible to remember a past life without being a member of the Black family," asked a familiar voice. Kushina started in shock, ' _I didn't realize he was starting to remember, or I would have told him already,'_ she thought to herself.

Kushina slipped inside the classroom through the partially opened door before she shut it silently and cast several charms on it to prevent eavesdroppers from being able to hear the conversation. Rabastan was standing near the window gazing out of it with a pensive look on his face while Ichigo was leaning against the desk as he looked at the ex-spy in amused puzzlement. When she had slipped into the room he had glanced over at her and she motioned for him to answer Rabastan's question. He had shrugged but said amiably, "yeah, it's possible to remember a past life but only if you've met someone you knew from that life. That's also providing that your memories from that particular life hadn't been erased but merely suppressed. Why do you want to know," he asked as he noticed his baby cousin smacking herself on the forehead and swear silently.

Rabastan snorted before he rubbed the back of his neck and said quietly, "because, I've been getting odd flashes of memories. I remember getting married, and you know darn well that I've never been married," Ichigo gaped at the younger Lestrange brother in shock. He knew very well that Rabastan had never been married from his former life as Regulus Black, Rabastan had continued to speak of what he remembered, "I remember being pregnant, _**twice**_ ," he stressed. "I remember taking my oldest child to Karate lessons and after picking him up I would sometimes treat him with ice cream so long as we finished it before we got home so his father wouldn't know." Ichigo started briefly, his mom used to do that, on certain days she'd buy him and herself an ice cream on the way home from the Dojo.

"And I remember dying…" Rabastan said sadly as he gazed out at the rain pouring from the sky and after a few moments he drew in a shuddering breath to continue, "it was rainy, a very rainy day. I had just picked up my son from practice and he had been telling me about his day when something caught his attention…" Ichigo stared at his old friend in shock as he listened to him describing events that mirrored Ichigo's mothers death.

Rabastan had turned away from the window and leaned back against it with his eyes closed as he said, "he ran down to the river, it was very full due to the rain and flowing very fast. I ran after him, yelling his name and for him to come back but it was as if he couldn't hear me." When Ichigo had tried to go over and stop Rabastan from continuing, Kushina had stopped him with a glare as well as a negative shake of her head. It had finally dawned on the orange haired boy that if Rabastan was remembering his mother's death then that meant that the older man was Masaki Kurosaki's reincarnation.

"I pulled him away from the river, he kept saying that a girl was in the river, however I couldn't see anything in the water but I humored him by saying that neither of us could reach her." Ichigo blinked at that, he didn't remember his mom saying anything like that but he had blocked out most of that night from his memories. He watched as Rabastan shuddered as he remembered, "I felt something then, malevolent and hungry, and it was aimed right at my son. For a split second I could see a large beast lunging at him so I threw myself between them, I knew that the blow would kill me and my last thoughts were of him."

Rabastan looked up at Ichigo with knowing eyes before he said, "the next thing I remember after that is standing in front of a man sitting on a throne and being given two choices. The first was to go on to the Seireitei and wait for my family there while keeping all my memories or take the second option. The second choice involved doing the man a favor, be reborn in the past with my memories suppressed until I met my husband. The favor was simple enough I suppose, however, it had become more difficult since I wouldn't have the memories of my niece's stories to draw on. The favor was to found the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Konoha, in the Land of Fire." At that Ichigo goggled at his reincarnated mother in shock, he remembered how Kushina would regale the entire family with tales of Konoha's founding as well as the story if the first and second Hokage's.

To Rabastan's surprise both Ichigo and Kushina hugged him fiercely, his eyes softened and he ruffled Ichigo's orange locks before he tugged at her bangs playfully. Ichigo swiped at the older mans hand as he whined playfully, "cut it out, Mom!"

The younger pair had smirked at the flummoxed expression on the Slytherin's face at being called 'Mom' by Ichigo. Rabastan then smacked both teens upside the head before he said, "enough with the laughter. How am I supposed to break this news to Isshin? Do I just blurt it out during inventory?" Rabastan had then pretended to count potions as he said, "oh, by the way Isshin, in a past life we were married, also the calming potions need to be restocked." Rabastan stared at the pair before he said, "I don't think he would take the news all that well if I chose to announce it that way."

Ichigo snickered as he said, "yeah, you might give the old goat a heart attack if you did. Or at least you'd make him faint from shock," Rabastan shot the teenager a mild glare that was tinged with amusement at that line.

"Why don't you just drop hints," Kushina suggested casually, "you know, things that only Uncle Isshin and Aunt Masaki would know."

Rabastan stared at her in shock before he kissed her on the cheek and said, "that's a brilliant idea, Kushina!" He had then ran out of the room to start planning his campaign to make Isshin realize that his wife had been reborn as Rabastan Lestrange.

Kushina turned to look over at Ichigo, he smirked at her before he said in fake thoughtfulness, "if Rabastan is my Mom reborn does that make Rodolphus my Uncle?"

Her lips twitched before she suggested with a wicked smirk, "how about we go inform him of this interesting fact. After all his previous incarnation of Tobirama was my great-Uncle." The pair then exchanged smirks before they used Shunpo to exit the classroom and raced down the stairs in search of the elder Lestrange brother.

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Hermione was lounging on a large plush bed, she was nibbling on a sugar quill as she read Hogwarts: a History by Rowena Ravenclaw. She had been a bit startled at the differences between of her copy and the copy that Rowena had pointed her toward. This copy went into great detail about how the four founders had met, their private lives as well as how the school had come into being. She read about who laid the wards, surprisingly enough Godric had been the one to lay the wards. She read about how the little tricks of the school had come about, she had been amused that Helga and Salazar had created the moving stairs, trick stairs, false doors and moving rooms when the pair had engaged each other in a prank war.

Yachiru was coloring in a book on the floor near the fireplace, she had looked up when the brown eyed girl had giggled at a comment that Rowena had made about Salazar's sense of humor. Hermione started to hum a song lightly and Kenpachi glanced over from his desk where he had been slogging through his divisions paperwork, his lips quirked upward in a faint smile at the sight of his witch lying on **HIS** bed. Hermione, having felt his gaze, glanced up and smiled back at him before she tucked a brown curl behind her right ear as she returned her attention back to her book.

Kenpachi watched her for a few more moments before he turned his attention back to his paperwork, he started humming along to the song Hermione was humming. Hermione glanced over at him in amusement, she didn't bother to tell him that he was humming along to a song Kushina had let her listen to in a memory from one of her dreams. It had been sung by a woman, the teen made a mental note to herself to ask Kushina what the name of the song and who sang it.

Five minutes later, Yachiru looked up and asked, "can I go play with Yuzu, Kenny, Ka-Chan?" When Hermione looked over the edge of her book to see the apparent child pouting at her and Kenpachi.

Kenpachi grunted before he asked, "did you behave yourself today?" When the pink haired girl thought for a few moments as she considered the question before she nodded vigorously. As he saw her nod he snorted before he said, "yes, you can go play with Yuzu, provided that she's completed her own homework."

Yachiru eagerly nodded in agreement before she hugged the scarred man and chirped, "okay Kenny! I'll be back in time for dinner!"

After the hyper young shinigami left Hermione gently pointed out, "Yuzu doesn't have homework, after all we just finished the exams. We'll be going home in three weeks," she smiled at the idea of doing the summer work during the last three weeks of freedom at the school.

Kenpachi set his brush down on the ink stone, he then got up and stalked over to her, as he did he purred out, "I know, but it'll make her think twice before she glomps the girl." Hermione smirked in amusement as she closed the book and set it down on the bedside table, she eyed the predatory walk of her boyfriend as she did so. He casually reached up and removed his eye patch as he put one knee up on the bed near the foot, he then, just as casually, tossed the eye patch on top of the closed book.

Her eyes darkened as she took note of how his robes had come loose of his belt and draped open to show off his chest, she couldn't help but notice how his eyes had changed color to a burning gold. He placed his right hand on her left ankle and ran his palm lightly up the inside of her leg, the feeling of his sword calloused palm made the brown eyed girl shiver. She moistened her lips before she asked in a husky tone, "so now that you have me all to yourself… What do you plan to do with me," she cocked her left eyebrow in askance as he shifted so he was kneeling in-between her legs.

Kenpachi tilted his head as if he was contemplating his options, he then smiled at her as he leaned over her, "many, many things, my lovely witch. I plan to do many things with you," he dropped a kiss upon her lips as he bracketed her upper torso and face with his arms.

She twined a hand through his loose black hair, upon her request he wore it down in his quarters so long as she was there since she could put it back up with a simple spell. As they kissed the pair were letting out contented hums, she finally pulled back long enough to murmur a question to him, "if you have so many plans for me, then why, pray tell, haven't you implemented them?"

He laughed throatily before he grinned down at her and said with an amused glint to his golden toned eyes, "because you didn't tell me to, my silly witch."

She mock glared up at him before she said in a haughty demanding tone, "then consider permission granted! Full steam ahead I say! In other words, my dearest Kenpachi, get started before I leave in a fit of boredom!"

He gained an amused look to his face before he purred down at her, "oh, don't worry… The last thing I'll ever let you be is bored…"

She smiled up at him before she pulled him back down into a kiss with a murmured, "good, I like being kept entertained…"

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Karin lounged under one of the willow trees near the lake, Toshiro was sitting upright next to the tree and leaning back against the trunk. Between them sat a bag of watermelon flavored candy, the pair were taking turns eating the candy. Karin's head was pillowed on Toshiro's left thigh and he idly ran the fingers of his left hand through her dark hair.

Both looked up when Yachiru chirped, "have you seen Yuzu around," Toshiro looked up at the younger looking shinigami. Karin was amused that Yachiru only bothered to remember her sister by name and not by nickname.

"I think she's in the greenhouses, if she's not there you might want to try the kitchens," Karin suggested to the hyper girl. Inwardly, she wondered if the child-like shinigami had eaten her entire supply of candy for the week before going to look for Yuzu.

Yachiru blinked before she narrowed her eyes in concentration as she thought about what Yuzu had told her what she planned to do for the day. After a few moments she beamed at her and said, "okay, I'll go check the greenhouses then the kitchens." As she raced off she yelled back at them, "thank you for the help, Rin-Rin-Chan! See you later, Icy-Kun!"

Karin's lips twitched before she asked the blushing captain, "Icy-Kun? Did she name you that due to your Zanpakuto?"

Toshiro groaned before he glared down at her playfully as he growled, sounding much like a grumpy dragon himself, "yes. She gave me that nickname due to Hyorinmaru." At that Karin collapsed from her slightly propped up position down onto Toshiro's stomach in a fit of giggles. The white haired captain let out an, "oomph," due to her weight, which had caused all of the air to escape his lungs in a rush.

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Gin hummed happily to himself as he did the paperwork of the day, Izuru peeked into the office to find the silver haired captain smiling happily to himself. Izuru beamed at the sight, the entire division had been relieved that their beloved captain hadn't been a traitor to the Seireitei and ever since Gin had proposed to Rangiku, the former spy had been on cloud nine. Which in turned made his division happy, during one of her visits to her brother as well as to hand over the reports concerning the Arrancar, Rukia had seen Gin and had been startled to find him not squinting as well as not having his usual fox-like grin but instead had a softer smile. When she had returned to Hogwarts the newly promoted lieutenant had shared what she'd seen with the others assigned to the school.

Jushiro had promptly sent a hell butterfly to Shunsui asking him what happened to put Gin in such a good mood. Shunsui had sent both a letter and a vial of memories to the other captain so he could see for himself what it was that made Gin so happy. All of the shinigami and Arrancar as well as Kushina watched the memories.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

He tugged down on the brim of his hat as the meeting droned on and on, finally he heard as the Soutaicho announced, "enough! This meeting is over, we will reconvene in one week to further discuss these matters. Dismissed!" The Soutaicho banged his staff on the ground twice as he spoke the final word.

Before anyone could leave Gin made his way over to Rangiku, she had been acting captain for the tenth division during Captain meetings while Toshiro was in the living word. Rangiku looked over at her nervous looking boyfriend, Gin licked his lips before he reached into his pocket and pulled out a square black velvet box, to everyone's shock Gin dropped to his knees. As he opened the box he said, "I know that I hurt you when I pretended to betray the Seireitei. I also know that I'm just a dog from the Rukongai and I know I don't deserve you, but I have to ask. Rangiku Masumoto, will you marry me," as he asked her that he looked up at her anxiously.

She was stunned into silence as she stared down at Gin and the ring he was presenting her, a smile slowly spread across her face. She then dropped to her knees and slipped her arms around his neck as she said, "of course I'll marry you, my Silver Fox!" She felt as he breathed a sigh of relief and with a gleam in her grey eyes she said, "as if I'd ever say no to that! You'd have to glue my mouth shut in order for me not to say yes!"

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Rukia had been amused that Gin had called himself a dog of the Rukongai since Renji often called himself that when he talked about how far he'd come since those days. She had shaken her head as she murmured to herself, "most of us are mere dogs of the Rukongai…"

To everyone's amusement Toshiro had, after the memory was over, raised his eyes and hands up to the sky as he cried out in exasperation, "finally! I had begun to think that he would never get around to proposing to her with how long he was taking!"

Kushina grinned before she clapped the teal-eyed captain on the shoulder and said, "some things simply take time, Toshiro. Sometimes, if you're patient enough, what you're waiting for will happen when you least expect it to." The red haired witch then left the room but only after she had given farewell nods to everyone.

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Ikkaku strolled into the third division, he received wary nods from the unseated officers of the division, even though he never challenged any of them to a spar they were still slightly wary of the former third seat of squad eleven. One of the higher ranked officers spotted him, her eyes had widened slightly but she promptly saluted him as she said, "good afternoon, Madarame-Taicho!" She flicked her eyes over him to assess his intentions by his appearance, his uniform was neat, his sword was in it's proper place and his body was relaxed. She then relaxed in turn, over the course of his visits to their squad she had learned to interpret, generally, what he would want from their captain.

From his appearance, it seemed that the captain of the fifth division simply wanted to talk with their lieutenant but was, of course, pretending to want to see their captain. When she'd noticed the way that the newly promoted man gazed after Izuru she had approached the captain out of worry for the higher seated officer, however, Captain Ichimaru had merely smiled and said happily, "you don't need to worry about Izuru-Chan where Ikkaku is concerned. That man would sooner lose a fight on purpose then allow himself to hurt our Izuru, he's rather sweet on him."

She had been surprised to learn that the fifth division captain would act like a lovesick puppy when Izuru was around. The funniest thing about the entire situation was how the blue eyed blond was completely oblivious to the bald man's attraction to him. He'd get a confused bewildered look on his face when ever Ikkaku paid him a compliment in his usual round-about fashion or when Ikkaku would ask him to explain something to him. One thing for certain, you had to admire the bald mans persistence in his effort to woo the shy man into liking him.

After a moment of silence she said while she smiled at him, "Ichimaru-Taicho and Kira-Fukutaicho are discussing the next inter-division sparring match. I'm sure that they would welcome any thoughts or ideas you might have," the inter-division matches had been Ichigo's idea, he had thought it was odd that none of the division had any real idea of how the others fought.

Ikkaku nodded in acknowledgement of her statement before he said, "thank you, I believe I'll go join them to see if I can offer some suggestions." She laughed quietly to herself after he had exited hearing range, just as she had thought, he had jumped at an excuse to talk to Izuru.

Ikkaku quickly reached Gin's office and found the pair leaning over the sparring roster, it appeared that they were trying to decide who would benefit from the matches the most. He cleared his throat, he held back a smile when Izuru had jumped in surprise, Gin, on the other hand merely smiled at his fellow captain. "Hello, Ikkaku, what brings you by," the silver haired man asked curiously while he tilted his head to the right and blinked sparkling violet eyes at him. It had startled everyone to find out Gin's natural eye color, they were even more startled the first time he'd gotten angry and they had turned bright red in rage.

Rangiku had merely laughed as she had kissed his cheek before she had playfully said, "his eyes are better than a mood ring. They stay his natural eye color when he's happy or content, turn red when he's angry, blue when he's sad or upset and black ehen he's angry enough to kill in a fit of rage."

He had nodded to the other captain before he entered the room as he said, "nothing much, I was just going to ask if I could borrow Izuru for a few hours." Gin's eyes had glinted in amusement as they gained flecks of the green that signaled that the man was feeling a bit mischievous. The Seireitei was beginning to learn just how to read the man's moods more clearly as time passed by, it helped that Gin no longer squinted all the time to hide his eyes.

As he gazed at Ikkaku he asked, "why do you need Izuru-Chan?" Izuru was eyeing the fifth division captain in bewilderment, he didn't know what use he'd be to the man since Ikkaku was always making comments about him.

Ikkaku glanced over at the confused blond before he said, "as you know, some of us from the eleventh division and those that used to be in the eleventh have been sparring with the Kings Guard." Both of the other men nodded at that statement, although Izuru was still confused over what that had to do with him, Gin's eyes had widened in understanding but he subtly gestured for Ikkaku to continue explaining. "It's my turn today," Ikkaku said lazily "however, they aren't much of a challenge to me." He shrugged before he said, "when me and Ran' were talking about the training sessions I mentioned as much to her and she told me that they might be more of a challenge if Izuru used his Zanpakuto on me before I got started."

"You want me to use Wabisuke on you!" The pale man cried out in shock as he gaped at the dark eyed man.

Ikkaku glanced over at him before he nodded as he said simply, "yes, these guards are actually kind of pathetic. Even Yachiru can run rings around them without once using Mafdet."

Both Gin and Izuru looked at the bald man oddly before the blond haired man asked hesitantly, "who is Mafdet?"

Ikkaku stared at him oddly before a look of realization crossed his face and he said, "Mafdet is the name of Yachiru's zanpakuto's spirit. She learned it's name shortly after Captain Zaraki learned the name of his zanpakuto." Ikkaku shuddered slightly before he said, "I think the entire division panicked a little at the idea of Yachiru packing more of a punch than before…" He shook himself out of his memories before he looked up at them and asked, "so… Can Izuru please come with me to play," as he spoke he stared at Gin with a fake pout and puppy dog eyes. His actions had caused the blue eyed lieutenant to gape at him in shock and with the odd thought of, 'he looks cute when he pouts,' going through his head.

Gin snorted at the look he had received from the other captain before he said, "as long as you bring him back unharmed, physically and mentally. As well as getting him back in time for the evening training drills…"

Izuru managed to squeak out a slightly protest at that by saying, "but Captain, the evening drills aren't scheduled to take place for six hours!"

Gin had continued as if he hadn't been interrupted, "…after all, if he's not here to run the drills. With how happy I've been I'm more likely to let the men out of having to practice at all."

Outwardly, Ikkaku nodded in commensuration but inwardly he was dancing in glee while thinking to himself, ' _yes! I get to keep Izuru for six hours, I'll just have to be careful…'_ However all that he said aloud was, "don't worry, I won't have Izuru fighting. But I can't guarantee he won't be mentally damaged a little, most of the guards are idiots, sometimes it takes a little violence to get them to learn something."

Gin went back to his paperwork and as he waved his hand dismissively he said, "just so long as he's not catatonic at the end of the day."

Ikkaku tapped his chin lightly with his right forefinger and said contemplatively, "I think I can handle that…" With that statement he turned to leave the room, he called over his shoulder to Izuru, "meet me at the twelfth division gate in twenty minutes."

After Ikkaku had exited hearing range Izuru turned to stare at his captain with wide blue eyes, Gin smiled up at the shocked man before he said, "don't worry so much. You'll be fine, Ikkaku is going to be doing all the fighting and just think, you have his permission to smack him a few times with Wabisuke in front of an audience!" Izuru had groaned at his captains perky attitude, however, his eyes widened in panic when Gin said, "by the way, you have only fifteen minutes left to get to the gate so I suggest you get going."

Gin watched in amusement as his panicking second ran out of his office, as he turned his attention back to his paperwork he idly wondered if Izuru would ever realize that when the bald captain teased him that Ikkaku was, to borrow a mortal phrase, simply pulling Izuru's pigtails. It was ironic since the blue eyed man had a bit of a crush on Ikkaku but didn't seem to notice that Ikkaku liked him right back. As he signed an okay to a requisition form Gin muttered to himself, "and they have the nerve to say that it's about time for me and Ran. When those two finally get together I'm going to throw those words back in their faces…"

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Izuru watched with a slight bit of awe as Ikkaku was moving fast despite him weighing three times heavier than usual, it probably helped that Izuru hadn't hit Hyozukimaru with Wabisuke's Shikai form. He had been surprised when a brown haired woman and a dark haired man had introduced themselves before she had said, "and you must be Izuru-Kun. Ikkaku has told us so much about you," at that statement he had goggled at her in shock. Right now Rin was sitting to Izuru's left while Obito sat on is right, Rin was snickering over how the other officers still couldn't keep up with the bald fighter. Obito was making sarcastic remarks about how the group couldn't even land a hit on a man who weighed three times more that usual.

Izuru had been surprised by how venomous Ikkaku's remarks were to the group of fighters, they were far more scathing than any of the remarks that the fifth division captain had ever made about him. He shook his head as he remembered one time that Ikkaku had gotten him so mad that he had actually screamed at the captain, all that Ikkaku had done was smirk as he had said, "well, what do you know, meek little Izuru does have a backbone after all." Actually now that he thought about it, there had been a glint of pride in Ikkaku's eyes when he'd said that to Izuru.

The pale eyed blond furrowed his brow in thought as he tried to remember the other times Ikkaku had made a remark about him to his face. Izuru's eyes widened in shock, ' _by the King, he's been giving me compliments in a rather backhanded fashion!'_

Wabisuke yawned in boredom inside Izuru's inner world before he commented, _'duh, you're just now realizing this? You sure are naïve, Madarame has only has been sweet on you for fifty years!'_ The dour spirit rolled his eyes at the incoherent babbling coming from his wielder after his last remark. The spirit then snorted before he said lazily, ' _I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up if anything interesting happens, will ya?'_

Ikkaku glanced over at Izuru, he was surprised to find a stunned expression on his face along with the glassy eyes of a shinigami that was speaking to the spirit of their zanpakuto. The entirety of squad eleven had thrown a party when their lieutenant had found out the name of her sword, she had taken up the habit of visiting her inner world to chat with the spirit. It was an act that would cause the hyper child to sit quietly for hours on end as she meditated.

As Ikkaku sheathed Hyozukimaru he said in a bored tone, "well, that's it for training for today, I'll see you all in about two weeks." Ikkaku sneered down at the pile of panting men in disgust before he muttered, "do try to use that time to improve yourselves. Fighting you is extremely boring…" Ikkaku then looked up at Izuru and yelled, "Izuru quit chatting with Wabisuke, it's about time that I return you to your captain."

Izuru startled out of his daze from Wabisuke's remarks and stared down at the barely ruffled form below him that was standing next to a pile of exhausted guards. "Oh, right," he said as he jumped off the wall and walked over to the bored looking captain, Izuru waved goodbye to Obito and Rin before he left with Ikkaku. As they walked down the hall, Izuru kept glancing at Ikkaku out of the corner of his eye while he thought to himself, _'is Wabisuke right? Does Ikkaku like me like that?'_

Izuru was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't notice Ikkaku had seen the glances that the blond was giving him until Ikkaku had asked, "why do you keep looking at me like that?" Izuru turned to stare at him with wide blue eyes, Ikkaku had sighed before he had muttered while looking away from the blond, "I'm not going to hurt you, you know…" The bald man frowned at the thought that Izuru might think that Ikkaku would hurt him at all.

"I know you wouldn't," Izuru said softly, when Ikkaku turned to stare at the blond haired man Izuru had smiled at him. "You like me too much to hurt me," the blond said with a confidence he barely felt while the bald man gaped at him in shock. The pair had stepped through the gate back to the Seireitei in an automatic fashion as they stared at each other, or rather as Izuru stared at Ikkaku bemusedly while the bald man stared at him in stunned, yet happy, shock. Izuru laughed at the look on the other mans face, he had then leaned toward him and closed the bald mans open mouth before he gave Ikkaku a kiss. When he pulled back he flashed a breathtakingly sweet smile at the stunned man before he said quietly, "just so you know, I like you too."

He then looked up at the sky before he commented, "I better get back to the division before Captain Ichimaru lets the men get out of practice." Izuru then used Shunpo to leave before the dark-eyed captain could get a word out.

Nemu giggled before she wiped all emotion off her face, Ikkaku huffed before he said, "I'll be heading back to my division. Have a good day, lieutenant Kurosotachi," he then gathered his wounded dignity around himself and stalked off to the fifth division.

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Percy grinned as he watched his mother showing Isane some of the family albums as she told the light haired woman some of the antics of him and his siblings. "Fred and George have always been troublemakers, at least they are settling down somewhat thanks to their business as well as Yumichika…" Percy held in a snort, the beauty obsessed man did not encourage the twins to settle down, he actually encouraged them into creating better pranking items.

Percy then glanced over at his father, who was smiling at the two women, Bill was attempting to teach Fleur how to play the muggle game of Clue, she was having difficulty following some of the rules. "Why can't we just use Veritisum on the suspects to find out which one killed the host," she asked in a puzzled tone.

Bill groaned before he started to explaining for the third time, Percy tuned him out, he had absolutely no desire to hear the explanation again. He had then turned his attention back to his girlfriend and mother in time to hear his mother saying, "Charlie has been obsessed with dragons since he was a baby." Molly tutted at her second eldest child actions before she said frustrated, "I'm beginning to wonder if he'll ever met someone who will obsess him as much as those beasts…"

Percy bit back a laugh, if Ron's letters to him were to be believed then Charlie had recently met a woman who had not only captured his attention but she also didn't seem to mind his older brothers obsession with Dragons. He turned his attention back to the conversation in time to hear his mother saying, "Tetsuzaemon seems like a nice enough young man and he seems to be quite taken with Ginny." Molly's eyes gleamed happily as she beamed with pride as she had commented, "and Rukia is such a sweet girl, she adores rabbits you know."

Isane chuckled lightly before she had taken a sip of tea after she had stated, "yes, I'm well aware that Lieutenant Kuchiki adores rabbits." Molly looked at her questioningly, "Rukia was promoted to the position of lieutenant for squad thirteen. The only reason she had been an unranked officer before now was due to her brother-in-law turned adopted elder brother's requesting it of Captain Ukitake, Jushiro," she clarified at their confused looks.

Molly blinked in confusion before she asked, "what do you mean by 'Brother-in-Law turned adopted elder brother'?"

Isane chuckled lightly before she set the cup of tea down and said, "Byakuya Kuchiki married Hisana, Rukia's elder sister, thereby turning Rukia into his Sister-in-Law. However, just before Hisana had passed away she had Byakuya promise her that he'd find Rukia for her and adopt her into the Kuchiki Clan. Unfortunately, she had also made him promise to never tell Rukia that Hisana had been her elder sister, so when Byakuya had adopted her as his little sister he told her that he only adopted her due to her extreme resemblance to his deceased wife." Isane smiled wryly at the gob smacked looks on the groups faces before she quipped, "thus the reason that Byakuya is both Rukia's adopted older brother and her Brother-in-Law!"

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As Chad looked up after a song, his eyes widened in shock at seeing Shunsui leaning against the wall across from the band, he was dressed in blue jeans, a dark red dress shirt and hiking boots. On either side of him stood Katen Kyokotsu, the elder of the pair was on his right, she was dressed in a deep burgundy knee length dress. The dress was, of course, extremely low cut in the bust area, the younger of the pair was wearing a denim mini-skirt with black leggings and a purple turtleneck. The elder was beaming happily while the younger was smiling faintly, her mouth was hidden behind the neck of her shirt, if he hadn't known her so well by now he wouldn't have noticed the glint in her eyes that was only there when she was smiling.

One of the other band members leaned over and asked quietly, "hey, who are those girls with your boyfriend?" The other members were watching curiously while waiting for Chad to decide if he was going to answer the question.

"They're his sisters," he finally answered before he remarked, "they don't often venture outside of the family compound. When they do it is only to accompany Shunsui somewhere, he's rather protective of them just as they are of him." With that the tall man left the stage and made his way over to the trio, Katen Kyokotsu's elder self gave him a formal bow while her younger self surprised him by giving him a hug.

Shunsui chuckled at the surprised look that Chad had on his face at the hug before he tilted his hat up and purred lazily, "I didn't know you could play that well. If I had I would have asked you to play when I came over to your place." At that comment of his everyone goggled at the pair as they thought to themselves, ' _what could they have been doing if Sado's never played his guitar for him?'_ A few of the guys at the party goggled at the elder spirits bust as she had bowed to Chad respectively before enfolding the tanned man in a hug.

Both sides of the rather playful spirit had become close to their wielders chosen mate during the pairs many weekend movie and dinner dates. Katen Kyokotsu had been amused that their master had willing submitted to the bane of paperwork just so he could visit a single mortal.

Shunsui laughed before he tugged at her left pigtail and teasingly said, "hands off, my dearest one, he's mine after all."

She pouted up at him before she said, "but Shunsui, you see him more often than we do!" Her younger self looked at her blandly before she snuggled into Shunsui's right side.

Shunsui snorted lightly before he tapped her on the nose as he said, "yes, I do, however, I also work hard to be able to take the weekends off to do so." He had then looked over at Chad as he shrugged before he commented, "I guess you forgot that I come over for the weekends."

Chad raised his eyebrows as he said wryly, "well I figured you weren't able to finish the paperwork for your division when you didn't show up like usual." He shrugged as he walked over to get the guitar from where he left it, "so when the guys asked me to play at the party I accepted," he called out over his shoulder. The rest of the teens at the party goggled at the teen in shock, Chad was normally quiet, they weren't used to him talking this much.

Shunsui watched as Chad picked up his guitar, the older man held back an appreciative whistle as he ogled the teens displayed backside. Chad straightened up and turned around causing Shunsui's gaze to shift from his ass to his crotch, he dragged his gaze upward until their eyes had met. The teen shot him an odd look before Chad blushed bright red when he realized just where the older man had been staring before he turned around. Katen Kyokotsu smirked at him before the elder of the pair leaned into Shunsui's side and had murmured, "perhaps the pair of you would like to be alone tonight, Shunsui?"

The older man shook himself out of his rather lusty daze to glance down at her before he commented, "no, I promised to let you spend some time out of the compound and Chad has wanted to show the pair of you a video."

"What movie is he planning to show us this time," the younger of the pair asked absently as she watched the group around them start as they heard her speak. Her voice was melodic and soothing but she seemed like someone who preferred to listen not to speak, Shunsui's eyes gleamed with a pleased light. It had taken a while for Katen Kyokotsu's younger self to warm up to Nanao so he was extremely pleased with how fast she'd taken to Chad.

Chad had come up in time to hear her query and he said quietly, "it's called Ghostbusters, I sort of figured you three would find it amusing to watch." At that comment he began to usher the three ahead of him out the door, he gave a vague wave behind him to the group staring after the four in stunned shock.

"That was Yasutora's boyfriend," asked one of the girls in a strangled voice, at the bands nods of amused understanding she shrieked in hysteria, "why are all the good looking ones gay, taken or both!"

A bunch of the other girls muttered in agreement, however, a lone voice said, "at least they'd be pretty to watch…" Several of the other girls turned to look at a girl that was normally so quiet and shy, "kissing! It would be nice to watch them kiss," she said defensively at the odd looks that her word choice had garnered her.

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Chad let the three spirits into his apartment, he glanced over at the pair of zanpakuto as he asked, "how come everyone could see you? I thought only spiritually aware people could see you," he added as he walked into the living area.

"Normally you'd be right, however, Kisuke-san had asked us to test an object," the older of the pair said as she seated herself on the couch.

The younger of the pair took over as she dropped down onto the floor to her usual spot, "as you are aware a captain or lieutenant level Shinigami's power is sealed when they visit the living world." Chad nodded so she continued, "the device allows the zanpakuto spirits to access the sealed power to become corporeal, we can easily return to our wielders inner world when we want though."

While the three were speaking quietly, Shunsui had paused to pursue over the movies that the teen owned, he pulled out the pair of movies labeled with the title of 'Ghostbusters' and then pulled a third movie off the shelf. He had liked the movie well enough when Chad and him had watched it three weeks previously, he thought it worth watching again.

While the shinigami was pursuing the movies Chad had bitten his lower lip before he asked quietly, "I know I promised to watch a few movies with you two but it there anyway that we can do it on a different night?" He glanced over at the pair anxiously before his gaze darted over to the oblivious man as he murmured, "I'd kind of like to spend some time alone with Shunsui…"

The pair of spirits glanced at each other before the elder of the pair smirked as she said, "but of course, Sado-Kun! We'll happily leave our beloved master in your very capable and loving hands!" She had then winked at the blushing teen as she whispered, "don't have too much fun that Shunsui forgets to do his paperwork!" With that whispered comment the pair disappeared back into the older man's inner world while Chad blushed a bright red at the comment she'd departed with.

The teen then steeled his resolve before he had stood up and made his way to Shunsui's side, Chad blinked in surprise when all Shunsui had done to him coming up behind him was to lean back into the teens chest as he contemplated what to watch for a fourth movie. He held in a chuckle when Shunsui had all but purred in contentment when he had removed the older mans hair-tie before he ran his fingers through the long dark locks and massaged the elder mans scalp. However, the laugh managed to escape when Shunsui just about jumped a foot when he had murmured, "don't bother with that. I have something else in mind to entertain you tonight…" Chad had plucked the three movies out of the startled man's grasp and placed them onto the coffee table before he led the still startled man toward his bedroom.

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A few hours later, the two forms of Katen Kyokotsu appeared beside the bed and looked down with pleased contentment in their eyes at the sight of their wielder cuddling with Chad. The elder of the pair looked up at her younger counterpart before she said quietly, "lets go watch those movies, our master and his mate could use the rest."

The younger girl giggled, which caused the elder to smile happily, before she nodded in agreement to the suggestion. She had then followed her out into the living area, she looked backward over her shoulder and smiled happily when her master had sighed before he nuzzled Chad's hair. She started when she heard her elder counterpart call out, "are you coming or not, Little One?"

She had swiftly but silently closed the bedroom door before she called out quietly, "I'm coming!"


	25. Chapter Twenty-Four: Of Inner worlds, Break-ins and Pranks

**Chapter Twenty-Four:** **Of Inner worlds, Break-ins and Pranks**

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Kushina frowned lightly as she twisted about under her covers, she had gone to sleep only an hour before, however, she was quickly drawn from memories of the past by a vague disturbance in her inner world. She opened her eyes to find that all along the top of the walls surrounding her version of Konoha were perched Anubis' Jackal warriors, the Jackals had their hackles raised and were snarling as they stared off into the distance. She glanced over at the Hokage tower and saw Thanatos perched on the roof with his sword drawn while Anubis was in full jackal form as he prowled around the base of the tower. She snorted in amusement before she muttered to herself, "I guess I better go find out what all this fuss is about," she then used Shunpo to reach the tower.

Once she had reached the base of the tower she looked down at Anubis and asked in a slightly puzzled tone, "what's going on here? Why is the jackal army on the walls of the village and why are you and Thanatos guarding the tower?"

Anubis shifted back to his more human looking form before he said, "something caused us to be more wary then usual and the jackal army just appeared there. We," he gestured to himself and Thanatos, "thought you had them appear since neither of us had ordered for them to do so. As for why we decided to guard the tower is due to it containing a great deal of your memories, we deemed it wise to guard the tower as such."

Kushina blinked at that before she had muttered, "well as far as I know I didn't order for the army to guard the village. Perhaps I should go find out just what they are snarling at…" She stared off into the vast forest where the jackals seemed to be staring at while snarling soundlessly. Her Zanpakuto spirits raised their eyebrows in confusion but nodded swiftly in agreement to her suggestion and watched as she leapt atop the wall before she jumped down to race through the forest.

As she ran through the forest Kushina idly wondered how and who had caused the army to rise to defend her mind from attack. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of an odd looking cave, if the light hadn't of hit the entrance just right she would have never spotted it. She veered over to the cliff face and looked the entrance over, it seemed to have a barrier made of seals as well as magic across it, she ran her hands over the barrier but it almost seemed to be telling her, ' _it's not time yet but soon I'll reveal what I hold to you.'_ She then backed away from the caves entrance before she whispered, "I'll hold you to that promise so I'll be back to check on you…"

She then darted away from the area, she never noticed a red haired figure come up to the barrier and smirk to themselves, the figure laughed quietly before it murmured, "oh, ho, ho. What fun you will have when you finally remember just who you used to be…" The figure then turned away it's red ponytail swayed from side to side as it walked away from the entrance.

Kushina finally slid to a halt in front of a large mountain, she then walked around it and studied it intently, at first it seemed as if it had no entrance then she found a narrow crevasse. As she entered the narrow corridor she had muttered to herself, "I don't know what the hell is in here but this seems to be where this feeling of unease is coming from…" Thankfully the narrow passage widened the further into it she went, she finally exited the passage into an immense cavern. In the center of the cavern was a large slumbering dragon, it was black with gold scales from it's chin to the base of its throat, a band of black scales separated the throat scales from the gold colored belly scales, two bands of black scales at the hip area separated the belly scales from the gold scales along the bottom edge of the tail. She frowned as she glanced over the wings and the way that they were joined to the body, the membranes of the wings didn't start until the third joint of the wing, each wing had four spines in it that ended with a large silver colored spike that was at least a foot long. She estimated that it's wing span when fully flared was probably around thirty six feet from tip to tip, for some reason the dragon seemed to be familiar to her.

As she silently studied the slumbering dragon she wondered just why her inner world was so uneasy due to the dragons prescence. So far she couldn't feel anything negative from while around it but that could be attributed to her own secondary animagus form. After all, most dragons hardly thought of other dragons as a threat, although her own inner dragon had been uneasy around the Hungarian Horntail, however, she had figured that it was wary around the other dragon was due to the fact that Horntails considered other dragons as it's natural prey. Kushina prowled around the dragon as she tried to figure out what it was doing here, it seemed to have been here a long time since the cave formed around it. From the position of the dragon and the disturbances in the sand it was lying on she thought that it might be waking up slightly before returning to it's slumber.

According to Thanatos and Anubis something or someone had commanded the Jackal army to be wary of the dragon. Kushina eyed the beast as it twitched it's wings lightly causing the inner red scales on the insides of it's wings to show before it moved it's tail to cover it's muzzle as it sleepily grumbled to itself before it returned to a full sleep. As she stared at it her lips quirked in amusement, it was almost cute how it acted and for the life of her, she just couldn't be wary of the dragon. She then turned around and eyed the narrow passage that led to the dragons cave, if her own dragon was any indication then she doubted that the dragon would take being trapped in the cave all that well. Actually more than likely the dragon, if it woke up fully and had no way out of the underground cave, would probably tear it's way out of the mountain, an action that would cause quite a bit of damage to her mental landscape.

She knelt down in the sand just in front of the dragon's muzzle before she closed her eyes, she then pictured the outside of the mountain containing the cave, she then began to envision the small crevasse getting bigger until it was wide enough that both the dragon along with her inner dragon could walk side by side through it. She then proceeded to widen the narrow passage that led to the cave to the same width and height as the entrance now was until it reached the cavern where she was kneeling in front of the slumbering dragon. However, she took it one step further by branching off of the main tunnel to create more passageways and caverns big enough for her inner dragon as well as the slumbering one. As she created the new tunnels and rooms she marked them so she wouldn't get lost in the maze of tunnels that now stretched inside the mountain and below the ground, she even had her magic etch maps into the walls at both the dragon's height as well as her own.

As she opened her eyes she stood up then turned around to face the still sleeping dragon who had now rolled onto its back, the move exposed gold colored belly scales as well as the gold scales along the bottom of it's tail. She smiled lightly before she scratched it just above it's throat, as she scratched the dragon it began to make a purring sound, as she smiled at the sound she contemplated leaving a monitoring charm on the cave so she would be notified if the dragon woke up. She then rubbed it's muzzle which caused it to sneeze lightly, she smiled wryly before she murmured, "hopefully, you won't cause a lot of trouble when you do wake up. I don't know why you're here or what your purpose is in my mind but it looks as if we're stuck together for now…"

She shook her head as she left the cavern and mountain that contained it behind, as she swiftly approached the village she noticed that the army had dropped their wary guard as they were much more relaxed then before. Thanatos leaned over the edge of the wall and called out to her, "from the way these fellows have been acting and your own stance, I assume that whatever had been threatening your inner world is taken care of."

She nodded idly as she scaled the wall in a single leap to sit beside the winged man before she said, "yeah, I also placed monitoring charms on the area of the disturbance so if anything changes I'll know about it." She glanced over at where her connection to Voldemort resided and her gaze narrowed as she contemplated what the hypocritical half-blood was up to. Finally she jumped down from her perch and stalked through the forest until she reached the highly sealed connection, Voldemort never understood how they were connected or even how to manipulate said connection.

Every time she had escaped him, she had only caused the bond to strengthen, it was a death bond and every time he had tried to kill her that ended with her escaping him only caused the bond to grow stronger. The bond began with the first time he tried to kill her, it was strengthened more when he tried to kill her when she was eleven only to fail, then again when his diary had failed to kill her, and it was strengthened yet again when he tried to kill her at the end of her fourth year. From the sealed bond she could feel his excitement and smug satisfaction, whatever he was doing appeared to be going smoothly, as she stood at the barred door she idly wondered if she should open the connection to see what he was doing. However, before she could she felt as his eagerness and smugness changed into puzzlement as well as no small amount of irritated confusion, in the end she shrugged before she turned away from the connection. She had far better things to do than think about whatever he was irritated about, besides she'd find out eventually anyway.

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Meanwhile, at the Ministry of Magic, a certain red eyed man strode toward the lifts, he cast a stunning spell at the guard of the atrium. He was joined by several people wearing black robes with white skull masks, as he stopped in front of the lifts he pointed at several and said with a hissing undertone, "Nott, Lestrange, Malfoy, you will search the office of Madam Bones for the files concerning my followers in Azkaban. Goyle, McNair, the two of you are to search the administrative offices to find out where the Potter brat lives. Do **NOT** kill anyone you encounter, stun them only. I do not want the pathetic Minister to believe I'm back yet, so do **NOT** disobey me!"

The five bowed to him and murmured, "yes, My Lord, as you will." Voldemort then turned and entered the middle lift, he then hit the button for the ninth floor, as the doors closed he sneered arrogantly to himself. As the lift doors opened into a narrow corridor he exited the lift and strode forward confidently before he opened the only door at the end of the hallway.

He marked the door with a fiery red X before he closed it, the room spun around him and when it stopped he entered the door right across from the marked door. He entered through the door, he ignored the many time related objects around him as he strode down the hall toward the Hall of Prophecies. The next room was as high as a church and it was full of nothing but towering shelves covered in small dusty glass orbs, they glinted dully in the light issuing from the candle brackets set at intervals along the shelves. The flames in the candle brackets were blue just like the previous room that he went through, he made his way to row ninety seven, he quickly walked down the row and eyed each placard until he reached the one that had the words 'The Dark Lord' and the initials of K.R.P.L. on it, he idly wondered who changed the initials of the Potter brat on the placard as he picked up the sphere from it's place on the shelf. After he picked up the sphere he left the Department of Mysteries and then left the Ministry of Magic, he knew that it would take a different amount of time for his Death Eaters to find their own targets the it took him to retrieve the Prophecy, they would return to the manor once they had found their targets and retrieved them.

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As Nanao went through the steps of preparing two cups of tea she told Isane about the date that Kingsley and her had gone on recently. The pale haired woman looked at her fellow lieutenant before she said in a happy tone, "well that was certainly romantic of him to do that." She then smiled slyly before she teased her friend by stating blandly, "I think you've found a keeper, for that matter so have I and it seems as if Ukitake-Taicho thinks he's found the one for him."

The two women were in the office that they had been given by Madam Bones when the pair had agreed to teach the Department of Magical Law Enforcement how to use certain types of Kido. The dark haired woman glanced over her shoulder and playfully glared at the tall healer, the two of them had been doing the paperwork for their respective divisions as well as writing up reports on the Wizarding World. Nanao snorted at Isane's remark before she said contemplatively as she brought the tea over, "I agree." Her eyes gleamed happily as she continued, "Kingsley is a keeper, Percy does seem to adore you while it's plain to see that Tonks makes Ukitake-Taicho happy beyond compare." She laughed before she took a sip of her tea then she said, "my captain is happy with Sado-San and he has been doing each weeks paperwork just so he can go see him."

Before Isane could comment her agreement to the oddity of Kyoraku-Taicho doing his paperwork the two women felt three people approaching the Auror offices. Within each of the three auras they could sense the taint of the Dark Lord, it was the same taint within Severus' aura thus the pair assumed that the three presences were more than likely Death Eaters, Nanao caught Isane's gaze and she frowned worriedly. Out in the Auror offices were three junior Auror's, neither of the women wanted them to get hurt, after all despite their ages and training the three junior Aurors were mere children compared to them.

As the three tainted auras edged closer to the offices the two women rose from their seats and exited their office, the door from their office to the Auror offices was closer to the hall with the lifts then the junior Aurors desks. Isane had her hand near her Zanpakuto, she was beyond ready to draw it from its scabbard and deal out some major damage. Nanao, on the other hand, had her hands no where near her zanpakuto instead she had readied herself to cast kido spells in quick succession. As they exited the office they staged a conversation about their plans for the weekend, "Percy and I have been invited for dinner at his parents again," the sliver haired woman remarked idly.

In the hallway, Lucius, Nott and Bellatrix heard the conversation, when the three realized that one of the two women was dating a Weasley they made disgusted faces. The three then overheard as Nanao said, "my Captain has requested to meet Kingsley to see if he's worthy of my attention," she sighed in exasperation. After a moment she had remarked, "I suppose he has the right to be protective of me, after all, he has known me ever since I was young."

Isane laughed before she said, "true enough, Captain Unohana has already stated a desire to meet Percy and his entire family. Percy is somewhat terrified since he found out that not even Kenpachi is willing to disobey my Captains orders," the three listeners could hear the amused lilt to her voice. Lucius signaled to the other two to be ready to stun everyone in the room when they entered it, Bellatrix pouted but knew better than to disobey a direct order from her precious master.

Meanwhile, inside the offices Isane and Nanao had signaled for the three junior Aurors to keep their heads down as well as out of sight, after all, if the Death Eaters didn't know they were there why not use that ignorance to their advantage. After the last junior Auror had cast the disillusionment charm on himself the doors to the office slammed open and the three Death Eaters entered the room firing spells. To the Death Eaters as well as the three junior Aurors shock Nanao and Isane easily dodged the spells before they counter attacked, in less than three minutes all three Death Eaters were beaten, subdued and captured for questioning.

Nanao had fought Bellatrix using Hakuda after she had caught Nott using a Kido, the fight ended with Bellatrix unconscious due to a blow to the head. Isane had toyed with Lucius since Molly had ended up telling her about Ginny's first year at Hogwarts, by the end of the fight she had cemented the belief that she was not a woman to be crossed into the minds of the junior Aurors and into Lucius Malfoy's minds.

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While Lucius Bellatrix and Nott were on level two, Goyle and McNair were searching level one for Kushina's file, after they had searched over fifteen offices they finally found the file on the desk of the Ministers undersecretary, Madam Umbridge. McNair duplicated the file and took the original with him, "Goyle, we're done here, lets go," he hissed at the large man. It had been surprising to learn that Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe were actually more intelligent then their fathers.

Before they left the level Walden looked over the file on Kushina to make sure that the address of her home was included in the file. He stared in shock over what was in the file, he read it over again but this time aloud for Goyle's benefit,

" _Name:_ _Kushina Ruri Potter-Lupin_

_Date:_ _Of Birth: July 21_ _st_ _, 1980_

_Mother:_ _James Andrew Potter_

_Father:_ _Remus John Lupin_

_Current Address:_ _Winds Nest, Wales_

_Occupation:_ _6_ _th_ _Year student at Hogwarts, Defeater of Dark Lords, Girl Who Lived, Student Head of the House Gryffindor._

_Acts of Accidental Magic:_ _Hair re-growth charm, shrinking charm, color change charm, apparition, vanished an object, and swelling charm._

_Ages at which each incident occurred:_ _5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13._

_Notes:_ _She is being strongly considered for the Auror program. She is a bit of a prankster but that could be an advantage to a future career as an Auror as most people would not think to her using a prank in a duel. She is very sneaky when required to be, she is also not above being ambitious, she's very brave almost to the point of foolhardiness, she's loyal to those she loves and respects. She also seems to enjoy provoking Dark Lords and Politicians as well as anyone she considers an enemy._

_Warnings:_ _She's more powerful then she seems at first, her viciousness knows no bounds in anyone dares to threaten what she considers hers to protect._

_Advice:_ _Be very wary when dealing with her as she is rather unpredictable when bored, annoyed or even irritated. NEVER and I mean NEVER make her angry because she can, or rather more than likely will, make your life hell on earth for the rest of your life."_ He shook his head over the facts in the file but it did contain her home address and since the duplicate was not going to disappear no one would know that the Dark Lord knew where she lived.

Both men then made their way back to the atrium and apparated back to the manor on the moor, the two then waited five minutes before the Dark Lord returned. After another ten minutes the Dark Lord snarled, "I'll summon those three later and punish them for taking so long," he then turned his attention to the orb in his hand. As he turned the orb he wondered just how to activate it, he finally found the indentation in the orb before he activated the orb he ordered, "everyone leave and do not disturb me for any reason." At that order all of the Death Eaters left the room, none of them wanted to have the Dark Lord torture them so it was unlikely that any of them would disturb their master.

Once everyone had left the room Voldemort activated the orb, the mist inside of it flowed outward and took on a form. There was a faint color to the mist making up the form, it was a somewhat tall red haired man with glowing blue eyes, he was clad in black leather pants, an ankle length red jacket. Dangling from his left ear was a sword earring, he was holding a red rapier in his right hand and then the man started to speak in a dramatic tone, " _when the war of the beasts brings about the worlds end,_

_The goddess descends from the sky_

_Wings of light and dark spread afar_

_She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting._

_Ripples form on the waters surface,_

_The wandering soul knows no rest._

_There is no hate, only joy_

_For you are beloved by the goddess_

_Hero of the Dawn, Healer of Worlds_

_Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul_

_Pride is lost_

_Wings stripped away, the end is nigh._

_All that awaits you is a somber morrow_

_No matter where the winds may blow_

_My friend, the fates are cruel_

_There are no Dreams, no Honor remains_

_The arrow has left the bow of the goddess_

_My soul, corrupted by vengeance_

_Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey_

_In my own salvation_

_And your eternal slumber._

_Legend shall speak,_

_Of sacrifice at worlds end_

_The wind sails over the waters surface_

_Quietly but surely._

_Even if the morrow is barren of promises,_

_Nothing shall forestall my return_

_To become the dew that quenches the land,_

_To spare the sands, the seas, the skies_

_I offer thee this silent sacrifice._ " The man fell silent as he stared at the Dark Lord with glowing eyes with a blank expression as if what he just said was of grave concern.

Voldemort stared at the orb in confusion, this prophecy had nothing to do with what Severus had overheard all those years ago, he watched as the man dissolved back into mist and the mist returned to the orb ready to be replayed if he desired. As he stared at the orb he contemplated the words that it had spoken, ' _war of the beasts, that could mean a war with the filthy muggles since they are no better than beasts.'_ He thought to himself before he considered a few other lines, ' _her gift everlasting must be immortality while the words the wandering soul knows no rest… Well I certainly knew no rest after that blasted Hallowe'en!'_ Voldemort's red eyes gleamed in satisfaction as he thought of the lines that, at least to him, spoke of his future triumph against the Potter brat.

As he sat back into his throne he summoned the orb from where it rested on the floor and quoted, "my soul corrupted by vengeance. Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey, in my own salvation and your eternal slumber." He laughed in malicious glee before he said while gazing at the orb, "who cares about the other prophecy, according to this one I shall win the next battle!" All of the Death Eaters shivered at the maniacal laugh coming from the Dark Lords throne room and many glanced at each other warily.

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The next morning Kushina rolled out of bed, she yawned lazily as she made her way to her wardrobe to pick out her clothes for the day which was a pair of standard Shinobi pants, a sleeveless black shirt, leg wraps and other such items. Her shoes were polished and sitting next to the portrait entrance, although she hadn't lived in Japan for years she still held to some of the customs she'd grown up with. Although she would be the first to admit that she didn't often follow those traditions outside of her houses or rooms.

After she had dressed she raced out the door to go to breakfast before meeting up with Kenpachi for a spar later, although after said spar she planned to go on a picnic with Kisuke before devoting several hours to a favored pastime of one of her favorite students. When she reached the moving staircases it had just moved, blocking her from using it, she glared at the staircase and pondered her choices, she could take a detour or she could use the more fun yet more dangerous option. She grinned before she leapt down the opening in the middle of the staircases, the portraits that witnessed her actions gasped in horror which turned to gasps of amazement as she gripped the rail of one of the staircases. She used the grip to swing up onto the staircase below it, she then flashed a devil-may-care grin at the portrait next to her before she raced down the stairs to the ground floor.

Kushina slid into the Great Hall, as she slid past the Four Founders portraits she nodded a good morning to them before she stopped at the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Karin. She ruffled the dark haired girls bangs, much to the preteens annoyance before she ravenously ate her breakfast, she then got up and said, "I'll see you later, Karin, I've got a sparring appointment to keep!" Most of the people in the Hall ignored her, they were long since used to Kenpachi and Kushina's sparring sessions. Although there used to be a lucrative underground betting ring concerning the wounds incurred during the spar as well as the winner of the match, after seven months it seemed as if the students lost interest in watching said sparring session.

After she had raced out of the Great Hall the owls baring the Daily Prophet arrived in the Hall, one owl landed in front of Karin, she paid the owl and started to read the paper. She gaped at the headline of the paper for several moments, all around her the other students had the same reaction, Karin read the headline again before she settled down to read the article.

**Dark Lord Returns, Girl-Who-Lived Spoke the Truth!**

**By: A. Nonymous**

**It seems that James Potter was right and his daughter had spoken the truth when she had said that the Dark Lord was back. How do we know this dear reader? Last night the Dark Lord broke into the Ministry of Magic as well as the Department of Mysteries, a prophecy was stolen concerning both the Dark Lord and the Girl Who Lived. During the break in three Death Eaters were captured by Nanao Isa and Isane Kotetsu, the two women are Shinigami of Lieutenant rank that are currently teaching the Aurors how to perform Kido. Lieutenant Isa is the second in command of Squad eight of Japan's Gotei Thirteen while Lieutenant Kotetsu is the second in command of Squad Four which I have been informed is the division dedicated primarily to healing.**

**The Death Eaters that were captured are Dominic Nott, Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black, the paper has been informed that Bellatrix has been disowned by the Ancient and Noble House of Black since she failed in her duty to provide the Noble House Lestrange with an heir as ordered in the betrothal contract. We of the paper have also been informed that Bellatrix has been divorced by Rodolphus Lestrange for breaking of the marriage contract along with personal reasons.**

**The pictures provided below were taken from the pensive memories of three junior Aurors who witness the altercation between the Death Eaters and Shinigami.**

Karin checked out the rather impressive spread of pictures and had to bite her knuckle to keep from laughing at how stunned Draco's father was that a woman was attacking him with a sword. She looked up at Rabastan and Rodolphus when she caught sight of Lieutenant Isa fighting a rather crazed looking woman, many of the students were staring at their copies of the paper in awed horror. Horror at the fact that Voldemort had indeed returned and awe that two women had defeated three members of his inner circle, Karin then folded the paper up and headed out of the Great Hall to meet up with Toshiro for an afternoon of cloud gazing.

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While everyone was reading the paper Kushina and Kenpachi were sparring, neither were using their swords were instead using Hakuda, Kushina was showing Kenpachi how to perform she had used on him earlier. After having shown him the move she let him try it out on her, it took him five tries before he could use the move effectively against her. Kushina cracked her neck as she smirked at him before she said, "I think we've practiced enough with Hakuda so how about a Zanjutsu centered spar?"

Kenpachi smirked back before he tapped his eye patch as he asked, "should I take this off then?"

Kushina paused before she said, "you can take it off if you want to or you could wait to take it off if that's your choice." She shrugged lightly as she called forth her zanpakuto as she commented, "after all it's not like I'm one to collapse in fear over your spiritual pressure."

Kenpachi snorted before he rolled his shoulders and took of the eye patch, he then unsheathed his zanpakuto. Kushina smirked before she said lightly, "since we both have plans for later, how about we agree not to use Shikai?"

Kenpachi nodded as he grinned viciously, "that's fine with me," he muttered before he lunged at the crimson haired woman. She dodged his strike before she spun around to face him and blocked his next strike with her left blade. As she was holding off his sword she struck out with the blade in her right hand, he leapt backward to dodge the blow. He had learned the hard way that all of the strikes from her blade could cut him, very rarely were her attacks not made with the intent to kill.

Two hours later the pair were standing across from each other, after several moments Kenpachi sheathed his sword while Kushina allowed hers to fall, the pair vanished before they were more than two inches from the floor. Kushina smirked at him before she said teasingly, "you better get going before Hermione thinks you got lost again."

Kenpachi scowled at her before he left the room, as he left he grumbled to himself, "I don't get lost!"

Kushina cackled to herself before she left the Room of Requirement and headed down to the kitchens to pick up the picnic basket that she had the House Elves make for her. When she entered the Kitchens she saw Rodolphus, to her surprise the normally quiet and serious man was cackling as he watched some pictures in the Prophet. She leaned over his shoulder as she asked, "what are you laughing about Uncle 'Doph?"

To her amusement he jumped as she startled him but he handed her the paper as he said slyly, "you read that and tell me hat you wouldn't be laughing."

Her eyebrows rose as she read the article about the capture of the Death Eaters and the portraits swearing that they all saw two men enter level one of the ministry while Voldemort was stealing the sphere from the Department of Mysteries. After a few moments she snorted before she handed him back the paper and said, "alright it's amusing how Malfoy, Nott and Bellatrix were captured. But I would have thought that after I had broke in and pranked them when I was thirteen would have made them improve the security measures."

Rodolphus gave her an odd look as he took the paper from her and warily asked, "what do you mean by you broke into the Ministry of Magic? When did this happen? And how did you prank them?"

Kushina blinked at him before she checked her watch, upon seeing her watch, upon seeing the time she swore in several languages before she said, "I'm afraid I don't have time to tell you. However," she paused long enough to pull a large glass vial out of her pocket. She put her wand to her temple and drew out several memories, she then placed them all into the vial before she put a stopper in it and handed it to him. As she handed the vial over she said, "you can watch these, they'll explain a lot better than I could."

She then scooped up the picnic basket, kissed Rodolphus on the right cheek then bolted out the door with a yelled, "see you later, Uncle 'Dolph," over her left shoulder.

Rodolphus stared down at the vial full of silver liquid for several memories before he shrugged and left the kitchens to go see if anyone else wanted to view the memories.

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Thirty minutes later, Rodolphus and several other people were in the Room of Requirement to watch the memories that Kushina had given the elder Lestrange. The Room of Requirement currently resembled a theatre with a pensive as the centerpiece of it all, there had been no shortage of people who wanted to find out just how Kushina had managed to prank the Minister in the summer before her third year. Sirius and James were sitting beside each other with their children on their laps, the pair were speaking quietly to each other while Remus was off to the side talking with Minerva. Severus was sitting next to Sirius, he was, much to the amusement of most of the people in the room, playing peek-a-boo with Cassiopeia, if they had not had months to get used to this softer side of Severus Snape most of the students would have fainted from shock.

Rabastan was seated next to Isshin while Yuzu was listening to Yoruichi chattering beside them, on the other side of the pair Karin was sitting next to Toshiro. Hermione was sitting beside Kenpachi was sitting next to his adopted daughter/lieutenant, Hermione was excitedly talking about who knows what and the scarred man was listening with an indulgent expression on his face as he listened to her.

Albus cleared his throat and the room fell silent as everyone turned their attention to the Headmaster. Albus smiled at them before he said, "I'm sure everyone knows why we are gathered here. However, I will explain just in case someone in the room doesn't know. Before Kushina Potter-Lupin's third year she had managed a feat thought impossible, she broke into the Ministry and pranked the Ministry of Magic. Until today she gave Rodolphus her memories of that day so it appeared our many question will finally be answered.

James and Remus had an expression on their faces that was a mixture of despair, bemusement, pride and a slight bit of horror. Their parental instincts told them to disapprove of the prank but the part of them that would forever be pranksters approved and applauded their daughters past antics. Albus chuckled lightly before he with a twinkle in his blue eyes, "so without further delay, let us start the memories."

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Harry was in his room at the Leaky Cauldron on his bed, he had his hands laced behind his head and his right ankle lying on his left knee. He was bouncing his legs for several moments before he began chanting, "bored, bored, I'm so damn bored! I've finished all my homework, did my shopping for school I have nothing to do," he sighed in bored frustration. He then got up out of the bed and paced the room as he muttered to himself, "what could I possibly do to entertain myself…" All the sudden he grinned deviously before he said in a singsong tone, "I know what I can do to entertain herself."

With that Harry went over to his trunk and opened up, he dug around for a few minutes before he let out an, "ah ha," he pulled out his invisibility cloak. He then pulled out the bag he used for his classes and stuffed his cloak inside along with a few items that he had gotten from the Weasley twins. After he double checked that he had everything he grabbed the bag and headed downstairs he waved to Tom before he entered Diagon Alley. He walked down the Alley until he reached Imperial Alley and walked down it until he reached the end before he turned on Noble Alley.

He exited Noble Alley via an alley between two muggle businesses, he then made his way to the underground and maneuvered his way to a lone phone booth. He entered the booth and after he picked up the receiver he pressed the numbers six, four, four, then two. After he listened to the recording he said, "Harry Potter, I'm here to prank as many people employed by you as I can." The same voice as before gave another short message after thanking him before a badge that said, ' _Harry Potter, Reason for Visit: Pranking mission.'_ He stared at the badge before he snorted and muttered to himself, "I wonder what it would say if I had said I'm here to kill the entire Ministry in the most gruesome manner as possible…" He pulled his cloak over himself just before the door opened, most of the people in the Atrium ignored the opened yet empty lift, they figured that a muggle must have managed to press the right numbers and had left the lift in a huff before it could descend.

Harry rolled his eyes at the ministries incompetence, he ducked into an open lift, although he had no clue which floor the Ministers office was on he figured that he'd eventually find it by the process of elimination. The man he was sharing the lift with had covered the door numbers with one hand and pressed one of the hidden numbers with the other hand. When the lift reached the floor the man got off of the lift and after a few indecisive moments Harry followed him, of course the man was long gone by the time Harry reached the door at the end of the hall. He then stared at the door for a few moments before his curiosity got the better of him and he entered the room, he closed the door behind him and to his surprise the walls of room began to spin around him while the floor stayed still.

After it had stopped spinning he swore silently, now he would have to mark all the doors he looked through before closing the door just to find the way out, he pulled out a muggle spiral notebook. He then wrote down the numbers one through thirteen, he then proceeded to open each door and wrote a description of the inside of the room beside a number before marking the door with the number beside the description. He stared for several minutes inside the time room before he muttered, "I have to check this room out before I leave this floor…" He then closed the door before he then proceeded to finish marking down the rest of the rooms, after he marked the last door he turned his attention back to the time room.

He entered the room and wandered around, he stared in bemusement at the continually reborn bird, he eventually made his way into a room that was as high as a church. It was filled with rows upon rows of towering shelves full of dusty, dull orbs that glinted in the light coming from candle brackets set at regular intervals along the shelves. The flames coming from the brackets, much like the previous room, were bright blue, Harry wandered around the room as he wandered he peered at the placards in front of each small orb in bemusement until he came to row number ninety seven.

As he walked down that row he was surprised to see his initials on one of the placards, as he stared at it in shock he heard a noise from the time room, he froze in place before he turned around to listen more closely. He heard as the other person left the room, as he sighed in relief he leaned backwards slightly before he turned back to the shelf to study the note card more closely. However, his elbow caught the orb and knocked it off the shelf before he could catch it the orb fell to the floor, Harry winced as he watched it shatter into a thousand pieces.

A faint misty form rose from the shattered orb for a few moments it formed into a woman then disappeared, he bit his lower lip before he reached into his bag and rummaged around before he pulled out an orb the same size as the one that shattered. As he held it up he said in a grateful tone, "thank Merlin, I had you with me or I wouldn't know how to replace that odd orb!" Harry then cheerfully placed the orb on the shelf before he vanished the remains of the other orb and left the room whistling in an innocent tone then he hurried to the lift so he could leave the floor before he was discovered.

Once he entered the lift he studied the numbers of the floors before he pressed the number one as he said, "I wondered what's on this floor…" When the lift opened he saw dozens of employees rushing around with papers, he grinned when he spotted Fudge outside of an office and made his way over, he was careful not to bump into anyone on the way over.

"I'll be having lunch with Lucius Malfoy so make sure no one enters my office from here," Fudge ordered the woman in the outer office.

She had nodded before she asked, "do you still want me to place any notes on your desk, Sir?"

Fudge paused halfway to his door and pondered her question before he finally said, "yes, but you are the only one allowed in this entrance while I'm gone." As Fudge spoke he had held the door to his office open and Harry took advantage of this to duck into the room. Fudge then made his way inside then over to his fireplace, he threw in some floo powder before he stepped in and murmured, "Les Majesté," he then vanished from sight. To Harry's surprise there were no portraits inside of Fudge's office, then again the Minister didn't seem like someone who took constructive criticism all that well.

He smirked before he pulled out the tiny clay figurine that he had Fred and George make after his second year, upon using an activation phrase the figure would become life-sized, they were able to walk as well as talk. The figures would take upon the personality that the one who activated the figurine remembered, so if the person who activated it made it of someone they loved, warts and all, then the figurine would remain exactly as they remembered them. Harry planned to take advantage of some odd dreams he'd been having and use some of the people in said dreams, he pulled out seven figurines. As he held the first figurine he murmured, "marauders rule," as he said that he concentrated on one of the people in his dreams.

As the figurine began to grow he set it on the floor, the figure grew until it reached five foot four inches tall then it stopped growing. The figure now resembled a young woman between the ages of sixteen and twenty-two, she had auburn hair in a braid that reached her lower back. There was a pink ribbon wrapped in a bow around the base of her braid, she had shoulder-length bangs that framed her face. She was wearing a long pink dress with a red jacket at three quarter length over it, the jacket had quarter length sleeves with silver buckles at the end of each sleeve. She had three silver bangles on each wrist as well black choker around her neck, she was pale as if she hardly ever went outside. Her green eyes had a gentle, loving expression in them you could tell by looking at her throat she had a kind personality.

The young woman looked around and upon seeing that there was no plants in the office said, "oh my, this place needs some flowers."

Harry pulled out several plastic plants and transfigured them into live ones, he then said, "here you go."

She beamed up at him before she started to place the flowers around the office while Harry picked a second figurine and concentrated, once again he set it on the floor before it got too large to hold. The figurine grew until it reached six foot one inch, it was a young man with gravity defying black spiky hair and violet eyes that seemed to glow with an inner light. He was wearing baggy black pants with two belts and a sleeveless turtleneck sweater under shoulder as well as abdominal armor. In his right ear was a small diamond stud earring, he also had a cross shaped scar on his right cheek near his jaw line, he blinked at the sight of the bland office before he saw the girl. He beamed at her before he went over to her and picked her up in a hug as he said cheerfully, "hello Aerith, how's my favorite flower girl?"

Aerith laughed before she pulled herself out of his embrace before she said, "hello Zack, I've been fine although I'm not too sure where we are."

As the pair talked Harry had taken out a third figure and began the process again, this time the figure grew about six foot two inches and he was wearing the same clothes as Zack. His hair was neat while his sideburns tapered to a point and he had a small goatee, much like Zack the straps for his abdominal armor resembled suspenders in a way but were made of leather with metal rivets. The man smirked as he caught sight of Zack bouncing next to Aerith, he shook his head as he chuckled, "just like a puppy," he murmured as his blue eyes glowed with the same inner light as Zack's.

Both Aerith and Zack looked up at the murmur, however, while Aerith merely smiled at the tall man, Zack let go of her and leapt at the older male as he exclaimed happily, "Angeal, you're here!"

The man now identified as Angeal had caught the younger man with a startled, "oomph," as the full weight of the other male along with Zack's powerful hug caused the air to rush out of his lungs. Once he had caught his breath back the older man ruffled the black locks of the other man and said with a wry smile, "you'll never change will you, Puppy?"

Zack pouted up at the older man when he ruffled his hair and whined at him, "do you have to call me 'puppy,' Angeal?"

Aerith giggled lightly before she said teasingly, "well you do act like a puppy a lot of the time. Besides," she winked at him, "I have it on good authority that a certain Commander likes puppies!"

Zack blushed bright red before he glared at her in embarrassment as he shouted, "Aerith!" At that both Angeal and Aerith stared laughing uncontrollably, after watching them laugh for several moments Zack muttered, "I never should have introduced the two of you to each other."

While the two of them teased Zack, Harry had been busy with another figurine and this one grew to only five foot eight inches, it was a solemn looking blue eyed blond, his eyes glowed just like Zack's and Angeal's did. His pants were the same as the other two males, however he wore only a sleeveless sweater vest without any abdominal armor and only one shoulder guard on his right shoulder. The shoulder guard had a silver wolf head with a ring through the wolf's mouth attached to the front of it, as he blinked his eyes he ran a gloved hand through his gravity defying blond hair, the sunlight glinted off of a small earring in his right ear.

As soon as Zack caught sight of the blond he beamed and launched himself at the younger male as he happily said, "Spiky, you're here too!" The blonds' eyes widened as he spotted the incoming missile named Zack, he moved to the side and allowed the brunette to impact the wall behind him. His actions had caused Angeal and Aerith to collapse in a state of laughter/giggles.

The blond looked over and smiled softly at the sight of Aerith laughing, he then said quietly, "hello Aerith."

She beamed back at him before she pulled herself off the floor and gave him a short hug as she said, "hello Cloud. I'm glad to see you're no longer Dilly Dallying or moping for that matter, only one man in my life is allowed to brood and he's not you."

Cloud snorted as he carefully hugged her back and said, "someone very wise told me that Dilly Dallying was useless, so I quit." He then turned his attention to Angeal and after staring at him curiously he asked, "can you tell me who you are? I'm Cloud Strife, by the way and one of the few people to tolerate him," he pointed at Zack, "for very long."

Angeal chuckled before he extended his right hand toward the blond as he said, "Commander Angeal Hewley, SOLDIER first class and Zack's mentor."

Cloud's eyes widened at hat before he said without thinking, "wow, you must have the patience of a saint to teach Zack considering he can barely stand still for five minutes."

From behind them Angeal heard a familiar laugh before the pair heard a man saying, "truer words have never been spoken." The pair turned around to see a red haired man wearing an ankle length leather crimson coat, he appeared to be the same height as Angeal. Attached to the shoulders of his coat were black shoulder guards, he brushed some errant red locks out of his eyes with a red leather encased hand. Cloud's sharp gaze spotted a dangling sword earring in the man's left ear.

As the newly arrived man approached them he spread his arms wide as if to say, 'here I am,' he then said, "my friend your desire is the bringer of life."

Angeal chuckled before he hugged the red clad man as he said, "it's good to see you Genesis." He then turned to Cloud and said, "let me introduce my childhood friend and fellow First Class SOLDIER, Commander Genesis Rhapsodos."

Cloud nodded a hello to the older man while Genesis gave him a once over, he then raised an eyebrow at a blushing Angeal. Genesis laughed before he said teasingly, "yes all we need is Sephiroth and the trio will be complete."

They all then heard a velvet laugh from by the window before they heard a man say, "perhaps your beloved goddess heard you, Genesis." Both men glanced over, their gazes were caught by a pair of grass green eyes with cat-like pupils that were framed by chin length silver bangs. The newest occupant to the room appeared to be an inch or so taller than Angeal and Genesis, his silver hair hung to his mid thigh and he wore a black leather coat that was identical to Genesis'. He wore the coat open over black leather pants and a black leather abdominal guard with crisscrossing leather straps over a bare chest. He stared at the two men bemusedly before he nodded to a wary Cloud and Aerith, he then nodded at Zack before he said quietly, "Cloud, Zack, Aerith, it's been a while."

After several moments of silence Aerith walked over to the tall man and ran her fingers through his bangs before she gave him a light kiss on the cheek as she murmured, "hello Sephiroth. I'm glad to see you finally got rid of your pest problem," her green eyes gleamed deviously before she said, "perhaps I can talk you into our old favorite past-time?"

The silver haired man turned wide pleading eyes toward Cloud and Zack, a low laugh came from near the fireplace at his actions before a man said, "who would have thought that the 'Demon of Wutai' would be afraid of a girl whose favorite hobby is to grow flowers."

Aerith smiled happily when she caught sight of the Asian-looking man standing next to the fire, his warm brown eyes glinted in amusement at his joke. His shoulder length black hair was in it's habitual tail, he had a small dot on the middle of his forehead and he wore a black suit with a white dress shirt and a black tie. As she smiled at him she said, "it's good to see you, Tseng, I've missed you."

He smiled back at her as he said, "I have missed you as well, Little Ancient."

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After allowing them all to talk for several minutes, Harry cleared his throat and asked, "do you all know why you're here?"

Genesis leaned lazily against the wall near Zack as he said, "we're magical statues embodying the personalities of people you know, however vaguely, our job is to annoy the heck out of the Ministry as much as possible."

Harry sighed in relief, he was glad that the figures had worked exactly as he asked the twins to make them, before he said, "yes that's what I want you to do. Have as much fun and cause as much trouble as you can without causing any deaths or irreversible damage." He knew it would be a while before Zack figured out that there was very little that magic couldn't fix, he didn't know how he was sure of this but he was sure. All of the seven statues had nodded in acknowledgement of the restrictions, only Zack and Genesis had pouted at the restrictions that Harry had given them.

Before Harry left the room he placed a spell on all of the chairs in the room, the spell was tied to an illusionary spell that showed a person their deepest, darkest desires or most embarrassing fantasy. The spell had a variation where it would display the fantasy for everyone to view, everyone that is except for the one targeted by the spell. Harry then bid the group farewell and exited the office casually, Fudge's secretary ignored him since he wasn't sneaking out.

If Harry could name one major flaw that most people had in common, it was that they all tended to assume that if someone acted like they had the right to be somewhere then they obviously had that right. So he was able to stroll out of the Ministry without being questioned as to why a thirteen year old was wandering the Ministry without an adult. He had headed to the atrium with his cloak hidden inside of his book bag, he ignored the check in wizard and strode to a floo to go to Diagon Alley.

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James stared at the blank screen over the pensive before he muttered, "my daughter broke into the Department of Mysteries, broke a prophecy sphere, replaced said sphere with a fake and then pranked the Minister. She did all of that without being caught or questioned at all," James blinked in astonishment before he said contemplatively, "I wonder if she'd be willing to give me some tips…"

At that Remus groaned before he face-palmed himself then scooped Teddy up and told his son, "don't pay any attention to Mommy right now, Teddy, he's being delusional." At that sentence most of the room laughed while James stared at his mate in amusement before he snatched their son back from Remus and left the room.

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While everyone was getting ready to watch her memories of that long ago prank, Kushina and Kisuke were making their way to their picnic area. When she had met up with him before they left the school he had asked if they could share their picnic with Naruto, she had agreed providing that he wore an ANBU style mask so Naruto couldn't tell who he was yet. Kisuke had reluctantly agreed and allowed her to conjure a Fox mask, Minato had always had a fondness for the wily, sly creatures so she had the image of a fox in her mind while she had conjured the mask.

After they had snuck inside of Konoha she had him stay at the picnic site while she went to retrieve Naruto. The blond boy was happy to see her and even happier to find out that she wanted him to meet someone she loved dearly. One of the first question out of the blond boy's mouth was, "why are you wearing a fox mask?"

Kisuke had laughed before he ruffled his son's blond hair and said, "because I like foxes, they are tenacious, sly and cunning creatures who deserve respect since they do their best they can to survive. In some ways they remind me of Shinobi," at Naruto's confused look he clarified, "they are known for being tricksters but once you have their word on something they won't go back on it so they have their own version of honor. They kill to survive but they are devoted to their families," Naruto's eyes lit up in understanding at that.

After the three had eaten their fill, Kushina sat back against a tree and watched as her fiancé taught their son a few moves he had made for himself that he hadn't shown to anyone before he died. So even if someone spotted Naruto practicing the moves no one would connect the move with the Yondaime Hokage. After three hours of practice Naruto plopped down on the ground beside Kushina while Kisuke had done the same on the other side of her, she ran her fingers through their hair being very careful to leave Kisuke's mask in place.

"Ryuu-Okasan," Naruto said hesitantly, she hummed lightly to show she was listening so he continued, "you've told me a lot about my Mom... Could you tell me about my Dad? I mean, I love all the stories about Mom but I hardly know anything about my Dad, so please?"

Kushina sighed but she nodded before she moved her mask out of the way before she said, "of course, little one, I'd be happy to tell you as much as I can about your Father."

She stared down at the attentive blonds before she began, "when your Mom first met your Dad… She thought he was an idiot, truth be told that opinion didn't change for quite a few years…" She told Naruto as much as she could how his Mother came to care for and love his Father to pieces without revealing that Minato Namikaze was his Dad. By the time she was finished with that one story it was almost dark so Kisuke and Kushina escorted Naruto back to his apartment and tucked him into bed before they left back to Hogwarts.


	26. Chapter Twenty-Five: The Vote of No Confidence

**Chapter Twenty-Five:** **The Vote of No Confidence**

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Renji gazed down at the slumbering Arrancar next to him, as he watched Ulquiorra he thought about how the other male had slowly come to trust him little by little until the Arrancar could sleep while Renji laid beside him. Ulquiorra opened a single green eye sleepily before he nuzzled the tattooed man's neck as he murmured, "go to sleep, Renji," he then closed his eye and went back to sleep. Renji chuckled quietly before he ran his fingers through the bat evolved Arrancars short black hair, he then laid down from his slightly elevated position beside him. As he laid beside the other man he allowed himself to remember their first meeting, a few months ago as well as the first month or so living together.

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Renji approached the Arrancar he had been assigned parole officer of, he smiled cheerfully at the silent green eyed being before he said, "hi, my name is Renji Abari and it seems we'll be stuck together for a while." The Arrancar blinked at him in puzzlement and Renji sighed as he said, "in other words we'll need to learn to at least tolerate if not outright like each other."

Ulquiorra looked almost bemused at that remark before he followed Renji through the portal to the living world, the gigai's that Ulquiorra and Renji had been given just an hour ago was immediately manifested as soon as they set foot outside of Urahara's shop. The Gigai, Urahara reassured them, would not only convert human food into the proper nutrition for hollows but it would change into a type of jewelry: a necklace, a ring, a set of earrings or a bracelet. Nel had chosen a necklace as hers, Tia had chosen a pair of earrings instead, both Lilynette and Coyote had chosen bracelets same as Grimmjow while Ulquiorra had been the only one to choose the ring option. All of the Shinigami were given similar gigai as the Arrancar save the fact that theirs didn't need to process human food.

Ulquiorra's gigai looked just like he did usually minus the remains of his Hollow mask, his hollow hole, his Espada rank tattoo and the green tear marks going down his cheeks from the outer corners of his eyes to his jaw. His gigai was also much less pale then he normally was, Urahara had remarked that no human could be as pale as he was, shortly after they stepped out of the Senkaimon, Renji winced slightly before he said, "I'm sorry but I'm going to need to put the Reiatsu suppression bracelet on you." Ulquiorra pinned him with his flat green gaze before he nodded in understanding and held out his right wrist to the red haired lieutenant. Renji took a plain bracelet with the engraving of a bat on it out of his pocket, he opened the bracelet by trailing a finger coated in Reiatsu along a point opposite of the bat engraving. It opened and Renji slipped it over the small wrist before he snapped it closed with a soft click, where it had been opened it appeared to be seamless.

All of the Reiatsu suppression bracelets had been spelled with notice-me-not charms by Ichigo so no one would realize that the bracelets didn't have a visible way to be taken off. It would have caused too many unanswerable questions if she hadn't spelled them that way, before they had left for the living world Renji had been handed an envelope by Kisuke. Renji opened the envelope inside was a letter and a pair of keys, he eyed the keys and took out the letter so he could read it.

' _Dear Abari-San,_

_Your apartment is at 314 Raiden St Apt C. Some items for the apartment have already been purchased and an account for your use has already been set up. The bills will automatically be paid out of the account so don't worry about that and your rent has been prepaid for three years. I understand that you don't know much about the living world but take the time to explore it with Ulquiorra so the two of you can learn together. If there is something you don't understand you can as Uryu-Kun or Chad or you can consult a book as the Visoreds and I often did if we didn't understand something when we fled to the living world one hundred years ago. The keys inside the envelope are to your front door, one is for you and the other is for Ulquiorra's copy,_ _**do NOT** _ _lose them._

_Have fun with the little Bat,_

_Kisuke Urahara_

_Captain of the 12_ _th_ _division_

_Fiancé of Kushina Uzumaki_

_Mad Scientist_

_P.S. Don't break your pet Arrancar, we won't replace him. ^_^_

Renji snorted at the parting note before he handed one of the keys to Ulquiorra and said, "here, this is yours don't lose it since it belongs to the front door to our apartment." At the green eyed mans puzzled look the tattooed lieutenant raised an eyebrow be fore he asked, "haven't you ever seen a door lock?"

Ulquiorra stared at him before he asked in a slightly confused tone while tilting his head to the side, "what is a door lock?"

Renji facepalmed before he took a deep breath and let it out as he said, "tell you what. Let's go to our place so I can show you what it looks like and what it's used for, alright?"

The green-eyed Arrancar gave him an odd look but nodded in agreement before he said quietly, "alright. Is it far from here," he asked before he stepped up next to the tall redhead.

Renji looked back down at the letter and said thoughtfully, "no, it's not that far and we'll be close to Chad's home." He sighed slightly before he said, "lets go to the apartment so we can find out what we need to buy." With that said he began walking toward Chad's place, as they walked Renji kept an eye out for the sign for Raiden St. Once he spotted it he checked to see which way they'd have to turn onto the street, they turned left and five places down he spotted three fourteen, it was a building with only four apartments lettered A through D.

A and B were downstairs so that meant C along with D was upstairs, the red haired man led the way up the outside steps to the apartment above A. Sure enough it was apartment C, Renji pointed at the doorknob and deadbolt as he did he said, "that is a door lock and doorknob. It takes a lot of force for a human to break a deadbolt, door locks are to ensure both privacy and safety, unless you pick or break a lock you can only get past a lock by having the key that goes to the lock. Why don't you try your key in the lock," he suggested with a small gesture toward the door.

Ulquiorra stepped forward hesitantly and after he studied the lock as well as the key, he carefully slid the key into place before he sent a questioning look at Renji. The red haired man smiled at him encouragingly before he instructed him, "turn the key, some locks will unlock if you twist the key right and others will unlock if you twist it left. You should hear a faint click when it unlocks," he added thoughtfully. Ulquiorra followed the instruction and twisted the key to the right, when he didn't hear a click he tried it the other way. He heard a soft series of clicks and the door knob turned but the door remained stubbornly shut. Renji smiled at the confused look on the hollows face before he reached down and said, "here, I'll show you," he put his hand over the dark haired mans. He then turned the key slowly back to the right but stopped it at the neutral position then pulled both the key and Ulquiorra's hand away from the lock.

Renji then pulled the unresisting hand up to the deadbolt and slid the key into place, the slightly befuddled look disappeared from the green gaze as it dawned on Ulquiorra that the key unlocked both locks. He twisted the key in the same direction as the way the door lock opened and heard a single click this time and the door swung open. Renji gestured for the other man to enter first and explore his new home, while he looked around the living room Renji had shut the door and locked it. The first place that the red haired shinigami checked out was the kitchen, upon seeing the place was devoid of food, appliances, (except for a fridge, stove and dishwasher of course,) dishware, cutlery, and cooking vessels, he knew they would be going shopping.

The next place Renji went was to see about the sleeping arrangements, he sighed when he saw that there was only one bedroom but he guessed that they wanted him to keep an eye on Ulquiorra. Not to mention getting the Arrancar comfortable in the belief that letting someone near him wouldn't cause him pain. Renji made a mental list of everything they needed to buy, luckily it was still early in the day so they had plenty of time. He added new clothes onto the list upon remembering that the two of them only had the clothes on their backs to wear and after peeking into the bathroom he added towels, washrags, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, toilet paper as well as shaving cream to the mental list he had going.

He had found another envelope addressed to him in the kitchen, it had been stuck to the fridge via a magnet, this one was from Ichigo's cousin.

' _Dear Renji-San,_

_I've taken liberty to open an account for you, the cark inside is linked to the account. Use it to buy whatever you need for your time in the living world. That includes frivolous things like paying to see a movie, or play, or to visit a carnival. I don't believe that any of the Arrancars have had a good life with Aizen and hollows are only born due to a human soul becoming greatly distressed._

_In other words, make sure your Arrancar has fun!_

_Good luck,_

_Kushina Potter-Lupin_

_Head of the Kings Guard_

_Professor of the Shinigami Arts class_

_Student Head of Gryffindor House_

_Lady of the Houses Slytherin, Gryffindor and Noir_

_Fiancée of Kisuke Urahara_

_Prankster Extraordinaire'_

He walked out into the living room to find the Arrancar staring at the various movies in curiosity. Renji shook his head in amusement before he reached out and tapped the hollow on his left shoulder as he said, "come on. We've got a bit of shopping to do, thankfully we won't need to buy furniture but we will have to come back after each shopping trip." Before they left the apartment Renji asked, "do you have your key," Ulquiorra pulled it out of his left front pocket and show it to him before he put it back. Renji nodded as he locked the door as he said, "I was just checking, make sure that you never leave the apartment without it. Even if I'm there when you leave I might not be when you get back so make sure never to forget it, okay?"

Once again Ulquiorra nodded in understanding as he followed Renji to a store that sold nothing but linens, the tattooed man steered him over to the bedding department first. "Get whatever you like, I recommend the highest thread count you can find in a color you like, the higher the thread count the softer it feels. Make sure to get several sets," Renji added absently as he checked out a set of tie-dye sheets.

Ulquiorra picked out six sets, two sets in dark green, one set of black, two more sheet sets in red and one in a chocolate brown. After he had chosen his and Renji had placed all of the sheet sets, as well as pillow cases, into their cart the red head had let the green eyed man over to the blankets and comforters. Once again, Renji told him to get several sets he liked, the Arrancar chose the same amount in the same colors, while he was doing Renji had retrieved four pillows from nearby. The red haired man also picked up towels, washing and terrycloth robes in the same colors as the sheets and comforters. Thankfully, the store allowed them to use the cart to take their purchases home as long as it was returned immediately so they took all the linens home and placed them all in the living room. Renji had also thought to grab curtains while at the store so when he got home from the last shopping trip so he could put them up.

After dropping off the cart, the pair headed to a nearby kitchen supply store, Renji spotted different sets of Hallowe'en themed dishware and after seeing that the theme for one of them was just Bats he grabbed it. They also picked out some pots, pans, cooking utensils, or cutlery set as well as a toaster, microwave, can opener and coffeemaker, Renji preferred coffee over tea any day. After they had taken the results of that shopping back to the apartment the headed to a large scale retail/grocery store for bathroom supplies and food.

After they had bought everything they needed for two weeks they headed back to the apartment, the store would be delivering the groceries to the building since it would take the two far too many trips to and from the store to carry it all. While waiting for delivering Renji put up the curtains Ulquiorra got the beds ready for when they to bed, the two of them had gotten two pairs of jeans and three tee shirts while at the last store but had decided to go clothes shopping in a couple of days. After he finished putting up the curtains Renji started putting away the kitchen stuff they had bought, shortly after he finished he heard a knock at the door.

After the food had been delivered and put away Renji asked, "are you hungry?"

Ulquiorra gave an affirmation to him and Renji began to fix them lunch, a simple chicken stir-fry and store-bought egg rolls. After lunch had been eaten and the dishes cleaned, Renji decided to watch some TV, Ulquiorra, not having anything better to do, followed him. The red headed man plopped into one of the recliners while Ulquiorra had sat down on the sofa, he watched as Renji fiddled with the remotes, Renji finally settled on the discovery channel. The channel, amusingly enough, was doing a special on Bats, Renji allowed the flow of the narrators voice to lull over him, before he could slip into slumber he mentally told Zabimaru, ' _ **defend me and wake me up if he attempts to kill me'**_

He heard Zabimaru murmur, _**'of course, master.'**_ With that he made mental notes on habits of bats, along with other behaviors such as feeding habits, mating habits and courtship behavior. Eventually the tattooed man slipped into slumber, after the program ended Ulquiorra looked over and saw that his probation officer was asleep, he blinked in shock that the shinigami would be so trusting as to fall asleep around him. He then noticed a sword propped up beside the chair that Renji was sleeping in, it glowed slightly as it pulsed slightly as he watched.

His green eyes gleamed as he realized that Renji wasn't that trusting after all, _'good,'_ he then turned his attention back to the TV, as he did he idly wondered just what in the world was a pyramid and why would someone build one let alone three.

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Two days later, the pair stepped into a clothing shop, two females shop assistants ogled the two men who were now browsing among the clothes. Renji pulled severed slacks off the rack before he handed them to Ulquiorra as he said, "here, try these on." The green-eyed man warily took the pants from him and went to the changing rooms to try on the clothes, within twenty minutes he was back, he handed three pairs over to Renji. All three pairs was the same size so the red haired man assumed that they were the ones that fit the Arrancar, especially since the other man was putting rest of them on the racks. Renji looked the slacks over and said absently, "go ahead and pick out eleven more, that way you'll have enough to last you two weeks."

While he was doing that Renji was picking out fourteen slacks for himself before he drifted over to the jeans he picked out three sets of jeans. He again handed them to the green eyed man when he brought Renji the rest of his slacks. When he returned from trying them on he handed Renji the jeans that were the same size as the slacks. Once the pair had gotten five blue jeans and nine black jeans each they decided to look to tee-shirts that had sayings on them, Renji got one that said, _'I bet my sword is bigger than yours,'_ on the front of it. Ulquiorra got several of the shirts one said, _'who wants angel wings and halos? I'd rather have demon wings, a tail and horns any day…'_ It was written in blood red on a black shirt and had an emotionless smiley under the words.

Renji snickered when he found a tee shirt that said, _'who cares about angels in a bed, I have a pair of devils in mine,'_ he smirked as he added it to the pile. At Ulquiorra's curious glance he said, "it's for Yumichika, he's dating twin pranksters so it somewhat fits." The pale man snorted as he placed his eighteen tee shirts to the pile before he headed over to the dress shirts, Renji smirked as he shook his head. He then took the pile of clothes over to the register and asked the girl running it kindly, "can I leave these here? I'm afraid we have a bit more browsing to do," he shrugged apologetically.

The woman at the register smiled happily at him as she took the pile from him as she said, "of course you can leave them here while you continue shopping. If I'm not here just tell whoever it is that you left some items here when you checkout, alright sir?"

Renji nodded as he said, "alright, thank you miss."

"Glad I could help you, sir," she said brightly as she organized the pile of clothes so it could be rung up easily when he went to checkout.

Renji walked through the underwear department and spotted some Hallowe'en themed socks on clearance, when he saw some bat themed socks he grabbed a few for Ulquiorra. He then began browsing through the dress shirts and picked out sixteen of them in various colors, by the time he was done so was Ulquiorra. He then led the other man to the underwear department so he could pick out some underwear and socks. Twenty minutes later the pair was exiting the store with four large bags each, Renji was carrying the pants while Ulquiorra was carrying the shirts and undergarments.

As they walked back toward the apartment, Ulquiorra paused in his tracks and tilted his head to the side as he listened to a strange, to him at least, noise. When Renji realized that the other man wasn't following him anymore he looked back at him curiously. Upon seeing the raised tattooed brow, the pale skinned man asked him, "what is that noise?"

Renji tilted his head so he could hear better, he recognized the music type but not the artist, "it's classical music," Renji finally placed the building, it had looked familiar to him. He pointed at it as he said, "that's the Performing Arts Theater, they don't allow the public to view practices today but they o allow the public to view tomorrows practice. If you want we can go see them," the tall tanned man suggested.

Ulquiorra nodded absently as he began walking toward the apartment, as he neared Renji he said, "if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to see this practice."

Renji smiled as he fell into step beside the quiet man before he said, "it's no trouble at all, heck my captain and Rukia will probably adore you for getting me to listen to it." When the green gaze became worried, Renji bumped him lightly with his hip and said, "hey, don't tell them this, but I like classical music, it's soothing to me."

At that Ulquiorra relaxed next to him, Renji hazard a guess that the former fourth Espada hadn't wanted to make him angry by having him do something he disliked just for Ulquiorra's sake. Renji silently thanked the King that the wary being had accepted his reassurance that he wouldn't find the affair tomorrow boring, although he did enjoy the occasional listening of classical music he'd probably only not find it boring if the other man enjoyed the music.

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Renji grinned as he sent Zabimaru flying toward his now winged opponent, Ulquiorra dodged out of the way with a small smile on his face. The green eyed man sent a barrage of Ceros at the now laughing redhead, who easily dodged the attacks, this was not the first time they had sparred together and Renji had gone into Bankai when Ulquiorra had entered his Segunda Etapa, the former Espada had been startled the first time he had used that stated in a spar against Renji. Instead of becoming disgusted or repulsed by his appearance like Ulquiorra had thought he'd become Renji had returned his sword to it's sealed state and pounced on the startled Arrancar. He had ran his fingers along the fur on both of Ulquiorra's arms before running his fingers through the longer fur at the hollows waist. Unconsciously, the bat evolved hollow made a crooning sound at Renji's actions, his now elongated furred ears twitched as his long, thin black tail wrapped around Renji's waist and upper body.

Suffice to say that they had never finished that particular spar, it also marked the first time that Zabimaru had appeared outside of Renji's inner world out of their combined animal forms in front of Ulquiorra. The green eyed man had been slightly startled by the way a young woman with mauve hair that had black colored marks in it that looked identical to Renji's tattoos, her hair reached her mid calf. A boy with shoulder length red hair appeared along with her, the hollow had noticed that a thick black chain connected a collar around the boys neck to the woman's waist, the chain wrapped around her hips in an X shaped pattern. He had then noticed that the pair had fangs, he also noticed that the boy was suddenly the same height as the woman and when Ulquiorra looked down he noticed that a long white snake tail trailed from the boy, it was holding him up. The boy was clad in white clothes trimmed in gold, he had his arms and legs crossed, the sleeves of his top extended far past his hands.

The woman seemed to be covered in dark green fur except on her inner abdomen and chest, her green eyes stared at him as if measuring his worth. The blue eyed gaze of the boy also seemed to be assessing him, after several long moments the boy nodded approvingly and the woman said to Renji while still staring at Ulquiorra, "he'll do, Master."

Ulquiorra would have been insulted if not for the teasing lilt to the slightly rough voice and the faint glint of humor in her gaze, he realized that the pair was merely teasing Renji about something. " **Saru,** " Renji shouted in a fit of embarrassment before he said sternly, "both you and Hebi need to stop teasing us. Or I'll ask Captain Kuchiki to come spar with us so we don't get rusty while in the living world."

Both of them blanched before the woman glared at Renji and growled, "very well, Master, Hebi and I will cease our teasing."

Ulquiorra laughed as he remembered the first time his Murcielago had decided to appear in front of Renji. They had been sitting in the living room watching TV, Renji had taken off Ulquiorra's Reiatsu bracelet earlier in the day and had yet to put it back on him. "What are you watching," a voice came from behind them, the pair was sharing the couch, Renji was sitting upright while Ulquiorra was laying beside him with his head pillowed on Renji's right thigh.

When he had heard the voice from behind him, Renji had jumped slightly but all Ulquiorra had done was glance over his shoulder and the back of the couch as he said, "it's a nature show called Crocodile Hunter. I'm of the opinion that this Steve Irwin is absolutely insane."

Renji blinked up at her, he eyed her appearance and noticed a great deal of resemblance to Ulquiorra's Segunda Etapa form. Like the green eyed hollow, she had large bat-like wings covered by a short pelt of fur, she had the same long ears that somewhat resembled horns as well as the same long, thin black tail. He couldn't see her feet but he took a wild guess and would bet that her feet probably resembled those of a predatory bird. She had long black hair, her gold eyes didn't have pupils nor any iris' in fact Renji probably would have described them as molten gold. She wasn't wearing clothes but was instead covered in a pelt of black fur all over her body except from the top of her shoulders to her clavicles. Her inner abdomen was also devoid of fur, her hands were tipped with silver colored talons, she absently reached down and ran her talons through Renji's loose hair as she watched the show.

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That had been about two months ago, Renji glared over at the clock on the dresser as he wondered why he couldn't get to sleep, he noted that it was almost eight a clock at night. Renji frowned as he slipped out of the bed and padded silently to the front door, after he checked his appearance he opened the door. He raised an eyebrow at the way his Captain and Ichigo were dressed before he asked, "how can I help you, sir?"

To Renji's surprise Ichigo had handed him the baby bag for Masaki and said, "I've been summoned for an emergency Wizenmengot meeting. Since both Heads of the family are required to attend all emergency meetings along with their spouses if they have one, so we need someone to watch Masaki for a few hours. Can you and Ulquiorra watch her, I doubt she'll even wake up but I'd feel better if she was with a shinigami tonight."

Renji snorted lightly as he put the strap for the bag over his shoulder and took the sleeping baby from his captain before he said, "of course I can watch her. Go to your meeting, I wasn't getting much sleep anyway," Renji the shooed them away from his door.

After the pair had left Renji went back inside and locked the door behind him, he then went into the bedroom and set the bag on the dresser, he then rummaged through it with one hand until he found the shrunk crib. He silently thanked the King that Kushina had given Ichigo the automatically shrinking and unshrinking crib. After he had reversed the shrinking charm he had placed Masaki into the crib before he crawled back into bed with Ulquiorra, a small light flashed and Zabimaru appeared next to the crib.

As soon as he was sure that his Zanpakuto was keeping an eye on the child Renji had rolled onto his left side behind the slumbering hollow before he nuzzled the back of the other man's neck and draped his right arm over his waist. Within minutes he had fallen asleep, Zabimaru rolled their eyes and curled up next to the crib, it closed it's eyes to take a small nap.

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At Hogwarts Draco and Theodore had gotten dressed in the official robes of the Heads of their respective families, Kushina had already dressed in the combined robes of Noir, Slytherin and Gryffindor. James and Remus were already dressed in the robes of House Potter while Sirius was clad in the robes of House Black, Severus was reluctantly clad in the robes of House Prince. Lily and Coyote had agreed to watch over both children while their parents were at the ministry, Isshin had bowed to Sirius and said, "the House of Kurosaki will stand behind the Head of House Black's decisions."

Since Rodolphus and Rabastan had been acquitted of all crimes that they had been convicted of, the elder brother was clad in the robes of the Head of House Lestrange. Many of the muggle raised students were wondering what was going on, their pureblood and magic raised neighbors began to explain what the robes along with the crests meant. At nine in the morning everyone required to attend rose and exited the school, once at the designated area they all apparated to the atrium of the Ministry.

Everyone stopped at the check in wizard and handed over their wands for inspection before identifying themselves along with their reason for visiting the Ministry. Albus hadn't been required to hand over his wand since he was the Chief Warlock of the Wizenmengot he wand was already on file. Draco stepped forward and handed over his wand, after the wizard identified what his wand was made from Draco said, "Draco Malfoy, Head of House Malfoy. I'm here for the Wizenmengot meeting."

After he recorded the name of the wands owner and purpose for visit the wizard handed the wand back to Draco as he said, "very well, Lord Malfoy." Sirius then stepped forward and handed the man his wand, he scanned it before he said, "Dogwood with the blood of some type of magical dog as the core."

Sirius nodded as he said, "correct, Sirius Black, Head of House Black. I'm here for the Wizenmengot meeting as well." The wizard recorded the information before he handed Sirius back his wand.

And so the procedure went for Severus, James and Remus, the only differences were the names, Houses, and wand components.

"Ebony and Dragon heartstring," was Severus, who had claimed the Prince Headship shortly before he married Sirius.

"Mahogany and Thestral tail hair," was James wan, while Remus' was, "Olive and powdered moonstone soaked in werewolf blood."

After Remus was handed back his wand, Theo stepped forward and handed over his, "snake wood and Unicorn blood?" The check in wizard glanced at the teen oddly at the core of his wand.

Theo drew himself up to his full height as he stared the man down and said softly but firmly, "the blood had been willingly given to Ollivanders great-grandmother, who had then crafted my wand." The man nodded before he amended the entry to reflect that, Theo then said, "Theodore Nott, Head of House Nott, same reason for visit as the others."

While Theo was being handed back his wand, Frank and Alice Longbottom showed up, the pair along with Rodolphus went through the procedure without fuss.

"Walnut wood and Unicorn tail hair," was recorded as Frank's while Alice's wand of record was, "Rosewood with a Dragon Heartstring core." Rodolphus' on the other hand was made of Ironbark with a dragon's blood core from a Hungarian Horntail that had been unusually calm in temperament.

Next came Kushina's check in, she cheerfully handed the wizard her wand, he quickly scanned it and recorded the results of the scan. She then stated, "Kushina Potter-Lupin, Head of the Houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin, Co-Head of House Noir." The wizard wrote down the information, as he handed her the wand back it dawned on him just what she had said and he stared after her in stunned shock.

When they reached the Wizenmengot chamber the moment that Kushina stepped foot inside she called forth Thanatos and Anubis, both spirits were in human form and they were wearing robes that signified that they were the stewards of the Houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin. Thanatos was the steward of Gryffindor while Anubis was the steward of Slytherin, neither one of the men had any sign of their status as Kushina's Zanpakuto. Both of them went over to their respective seats since their Mistress had silently ordered them to go sit down in the chairs, the chairs changed to show that the person currently sitting in them held the status of Steward of the family. There was a single seat at the places for the Houses of Malfoy, Nott, Lestrange, Black, Slytherin and Gryffindor while the Prince seat moved to be next to the House Black's single seat. The Potter Families place had two seats, one was marked as the Lord Potter's while the other was marked as being for the spouse of Lord Potter.

There was three chairs at the Noir Family seats, two chairs were already occupied by Byakuya and Ichigo who were sitting in the spouse seat for the Lord Noir and the Lord Noir's seat respectively. To the surprise of the other Lords and Ladies, Kushina sat down in the seat assigned to Lady Noir, while the others in the chamber murmured in shock Kushina had asked, "so who is watching your daughter, cousin?" Her voice was quiet but pitched in such a way to carry toward the gossipers ears.

Ichigo modulated his voice to the same pitch as he said, "Renji and Ulquiorra, Masaki was sleeping soundly when we left her."

Kushina snapped her fingers before she said in fake comprehension, "that's right, Japan runs about seven hours ahead of England so it was night time to you." The pair nodded quietly as they watched the rest of the Wizenmengot trickle into the room over the next five minutes, finally they were all assembled.

Albus stood up and the room fell silent as he said, "I hereby call this meeting into order," he then turned to Amelia Bones. "Lady Bones, could you tell us why you requested that we meet today," his blue eyes peered over the rims of his glasses as he looked at her.

Amelia stood up from her seat before she said, "as you are all aware the former Lords of House Malfoy and House Nott along with Bellatrix, the former wife of Lord Lestrange were arrested recently. When we questioned them on their activities under the influence of Veritaserum, they revealed a truth that Minister Fudge had assured this entire body was not true."

Cornelius Fudge gulped from his seat at the minor House of Fudge when Amelia sent him a scathing glare before she said, "they told us that Voldemort," most of the room flinched at the name. Amelia continued as if they hadn't flinched at all, "is alive and commanding the Death Eaters. Also according to the three captured, two other Death Eaters were told to steal a file, thankfully a fake of that file had already been planted for over a year, so even if they had managed to steal a copy they did not obtain the true file. The real file is hidden under Fidelius while the secret keeper is hidden under the same charm," many in the room wondered what was in the file if it had this much security.

Amelia pointed accusingly at Cornelius and said, "you reassured us that the matter had been investigated and that Voldemort was dead. Obviously, you lied to us all, because if the matter had been investigated then we would have known that he was back and the Azkaban breakout might not have occurred!"

At that Rodolphus cleared his throat before he said while looking at her with a wry smile, "you'll understand why me and my brother are rather glad that it occurred…"

Amelia nodded in understanding as she said, "of course, Lord Lestrange, it's quite understanding that you and your brother are glad to be out of there. However, there is the small matter of what to do with the Minister," she again glared at Fudge.

As one Ichigo and Kushina stood up, "the House of Noir calls for a Vote of No Confidence in the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge and propose that we appoint a new Minister to office." The pair had spoken in complete unison during the entire speech and remained standing while the other houses spoke amongst themselves.

Sirius stood up and stated, "the Houses of Black seconds the House of Noirs motion."

"As does the House of Prince," added Severus as he stood up next to his husband.

"The House of Potter stands with the Houses of Noir, Black and Prince," James and Remus said in chorus as they too stood up. Both Theo and Draco stood up declaring their support of the motion, as did the Houses of Zabini and Greengrass.

Thanatos and Anubis stood up before they said, "the Houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin also support the House of Noir's decision." Thanatos had stretched slightly before he added, "we speak for the Lady Slytherin-Gryffindor and are the stewards for the Houses, as such we can vote on our Lady's behalf." despite various objections the votes held and the motion carried, Cornelius was removed from the office of Minister.

Instead of sitting back down once the motion had been carried and Fudge stripped of the title of Minister for Magic, the Co-Heads of Noir remained standing and said in unison again, "the House of Noir proposes that Lady Bones becomes the next Minister. We suggest her due to her unflinching loyalty to both her duty and to the people of the Wizarding world along with her unwavering sense of Justice." The other eight houses quickly rose back on their feet to support House Noir's suggestion and others quickly followed including the Noble House of Shacklebolt as well as the Noble house of Scrimgeour. None of the Dark Lord supporters had a leg to stand on and Madam Bones was swiftly sworn in as Minister, her first two actions as Minister was to promote two people in the DMLE to fill the void left by her promotion.

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Twenty minutes after Madam Bones appointment to the position of Minister the meeting had concluded, some of the Heads left immediately afterward including Ichigo and Byakuya, the pair wanted to get back to their daughter as soon as possible. Some of the others had stayed to mingle, Draco gathered his courage as he made his way to Lord Kenneth Greengrass, the father of Daphne and Astoria Greengrass, Kenneth was speaking quietly with Kushina when he reached them.

Kushina smiled at him in greeting, much to the surprise of most of the room she stated happily, "greetings to thee, Lord Malfoy. Have you made the acquaintance of Lord Greengrass yet," she questioned him softly.

Draco gave a regal shake to his head before he stated formally, "nay, I had not yet been introduced to the Heads of the other Noble Houses. Father," he spat it as if just saying the word disgusted him, "was going to introduce me to the other Noble Houses this summer." He then turned to Kenneth and held out his right hand as he said, "Lord Draco Malfoy, Head of House Malfoy. I hope to raise my families name from the mire that my recent ancestors have allowed it to become sullied with and back to the place that my ancient ancestor, Dominic Malfoy, had once held it at."

Lord Greengrass huffed a laugh before he shook Draco's hand firmly, as he did he smiled at him and said wryly, "I never thought I'd see the day when a Malfoy was as straightforward as you just were."

Draco smiled at him sardonically before he quipped lightly, "you can thank your youngest daughter for that." His mercury eyes softened as he said with a fond smile, "she dislikes it when I'm not straightforward and isn't afraid to smack me when I'm not."

Kushina spotted the moment when Lord Greengrass realized that Draco was completely smitten with his youngest daughter and watched as the Lord began to quietly, yet in a still dignified manner, panic. Kushina smiled at him before she asked Draco slyly, "so when did you taking the Black family potion?"

"Just after third year," he answered absently.

Kenneth frowned in confusion and asked just as his wife Maria along with Kushina's parents walked up, "Black family potion, what is that for?"

Draco glanced at Kushina who merely rolled her eyes but she began to explain for everyone around them, "when a woman by the name of Isabella Lecanu committed Line Theft of the House Noir, the family cursed her unborn children with a variant of the Noir family magic. The Noir family magic allows all blood members of the family to dream of their soul mates beginning at the age of five and ending either when they meet their soul mate or the age of twenty whichever comes first. If a Noir is rejected by their soul mate they can still possibly fall in love and marry, it wouldn't be as close a marriage if it was to their soul mate but it's still possible. The Curse on the Black family however does not allow them the same luxury, for the Black family it's their mate or no one else, if their mate rejects them then they will be alone for the rest of their lives."

She smiled wryly as she said absently, "that's why most of the Black family take a potion that prevents dreams until they reach the age of twenty-one beginning at the age of four. The potion regimen prevents the dreams from occurring because once the dreams start they can't be stopped by any means and once they dream of their mate no one else will do." She then shrugged at the slightly reassured expression on Lord Greengrass' face, it was clear that he understood that if Draco was this smitten with his daughter then he had started to dream of her after he had stopped taking the potion.

She then said, "out of all the recent blood relatives of House Black only Dorea Potter nee Black, Andromeda Tonks nee Black as well as her daughter by her mate, Sirius and his brother Regulus, Marius Kurosaki formerly Black, his daughter Masaki Kurosaki and all three of her children, of course neither Dorea's son and granddaughter have taken the potion either. And of course Draco just stopped taking it after his third year," she added absently as she tilted her head to the side as she recalled everyone who had stopped or refused to take the potion.

She looked at him and said softly, "personally, I've been betrothed to my soul mate since I was seven and I've known him since I was six, he was a friend of Uncle Isshin but I hadn't been introduced until a year after my dreams began." Draco glanced at her questioningly and she realized that he was trying to ask her who the soul mates of the family members were. "My cousin Ichigo is bonded to and has a child with his soul mate Byakuya Kuchiki who is the current Head of one of the four Noble Houses of the Seireitei. Karin's soul mate is currently courting her, he's the captain of the Tenth Division of the Gotei thirteen, Toshiro Hitsugaya. Yuzu and her soul mate are progressing through the courtship ritual slowly, I believe Yuzu is trying to convince her mate that growing up isn't that bad."

She huffed a laugh before she quipped almost to herself, "sometimes, I swear that Yachiru is a female version of Peter Pan, what with her refusal to allow her body to grow up so she won't have to leave Kenpachi's side." At that statement most of those who hadn't pieced who Yuzu's soul mate was goggled at the red haired witch in shock.

She then turned to Draco and stated, "Astoria is your soul mate isn't she?" He nodded wryly at that so she continued by saying, "that's why you started asking her out and after she became friends with me you started to pay attention to the facts not your father's word about something." Again he nodded so she said while keeping her eye on Kenneth's expression, "because as your soul mate you value her approval, opinion and judgment far more than your parents." Once more he nodded, he didn't question how she knew what had been going through his mind, as a fellow member of the Black family she knew just what a Black will do to gain the love of their soul mate. Kushina had been accepted almost immediately by her mate, unlike Draco she hadn't needed to gain Kisuke's love and acceptance the way Draco had to fight for Astoria's.

Draco then turned toward Kenneth Greengrass and his wife, Maria before he asked in a formal tone, "Lord Greengrass, Lady Greengrass, may I court your daughter, Astoria Greengrass?"

Both Maria and Kenneth thought it over, after several nervous, for Draco at least, moments they nodded before they said, "Lord Draco Malfoy, you have our permission to court Astoria Greengrass, second born daughter of the Noble House of Greengrass. Should said courtship end in a betrothal then we will give our daughter into your hands and welcome you into our family," as they had spoken the words a light appeared around the three and as they had finished speaking it flashed signaling Magic's acceptance of the agreement.

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The next morning most of the Great Hall was in shock over the Daily Prophet article, Karin and Yuzu shared laughter at the stunned look that Fudge's picture sported after his removal from office. If it weren't for the fact that Lord Gryffindor and Lord Slytherin had announced that Kushina was their heir they'd be clueless as to how the Lady of those two houses was.

Kushina was in her rooms and was at her desk eating a light meal as she read the paper, she snorted at something and Minato asked, "can you read it aloud to me, 'Shina-Chan?"

She looked up at the curious portrait before she said, "of course, 'Nato-Kun." She cleared her throat before she began, " **Fudge ousted as Minister! By: A. Nonymous.**

**The first vote of no confidence since 1509 was held just last night. Three Noble Houses, two Most Ancient and Noble Houses and four Most Ancient and Royal Houses voted in the motion. The nine families involved are the Noble Houses of Nott, Greengrass and Zabini, the two Most Ancient and Noble Houses are the Houses of Black and Malfoy while the four Most Ancient and Royal Houses are the Houses of Noir, the Royal Family of France, the House of Slytherin, the Royal house of Spain, the House of Gryffindor, the Royal house of England and finally the House of Potter, which is said to be descended of Gryffindor.**

**Two men claiming to be the stewards of the Houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin stated that a single woman holds the Headship of both families. The nine houses voted Lady Amelia Bones, head of House Bones to become the new Minister. After a vote was held by the Wizenmengot the former Head of the DMLE was promoted to Minister. She handed over the title of Head of the DMLE to the Former Head Auror Rufus Scrimgeour, who in turn handed the position of Head Auror to Senior Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt.**

**More news to follow as we discover it!** "

At the end of the article Minato smirked at her before he remarked, "you certainly never change, my dearest Dragon."

She leaned backwards in mock arrogance before she said haughtily, "of course not. What would be the fun of that," shortly after she had made that comment a cheetah and one of her clones popped into the room. The clone immediately dispelled and Kushina had almost fallen over from shock, she blinked before she began to grin like a very hungry shark.

Minato took one look at her face and wondered what the clone had been doing to cause that look to cross her face. Kushina idly pondered whether or not to tell Mikoto that her eldest child and his lover/partner was going to make her a grandmother in about five to six months. In the end she decided against telling her old friend since if Itachi wanted his mother to know he'd/she'd send a crow to her with a message.


	27. Chapter Twenty-Six: A Dark Cloud and Hope for the Future

**Chapter Twenty-Six:** **A Dark Cloud and Hope for the Future**

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Kushina had her trunk open and was putting her books, clothes and other school supplies in the bottom of it, on top of her clothes she placed her box that contained her ANBU uniform along with her Sealing box that contained everything she could need to make or create a seal along with her copies of Icha Icha. Minato had been bemused by his wife's love of the gaudy orange books, he was even more bemused when he discovered that the Sandaime Hokage was also addicted to the series. The last thing she added to her trunk was Hedwig's shrunken perch, before she closed it she double checked the bathroom, her wardrobe, her desk and finally under her bed, upon finding absolutely nothing she closed the trunk then locked it.

After she did that she looked at the pair of snowy owls perched on the window sill and said, "Hedwig, Heimdallr, go ahead to Elysian Isle, I'll apparate once we reach Kingscross station." The two owls gave a soft bark each at her before they took to wing, once the pair left Hogwart's grounds the port-key on their ownership bands would activate transporting the pair to just over the shore of the hidden Isle. She then exited her rooms and left the common room to go have breakfast, when she reached the Great Hall she sat down next to Ron, who was eating eggs, sausage, bacon, toast and was drinking orange juice. She put some eggs, bacon, and toast on her plate along with a few strawberries, she decided to drink some milk with her breakfast instead of juice.

Once everyone had finished eating, they all got ready to leave for their summer holidays, Ron left to go find Rukia while Hermione left to go find Kenpachi. Kushina rolled her eyes and muttered, "talk to him, yeah right, more like you're going to snog his brains out since he has to go report to the Soutaicho."

Anubis and Thanatos suddenly appeared beside her on the bench, all of the first years except for the Gryffindors, goggled in shock at the two spirits. The pair hadn't appeared outside of Kushina's inner world except for in her rooms or in the Gryffindor Common room so the pair were a bit of a surprise for most of those who hadn't seen her first spar at Hogwarts last year. The three ignored the odd glances they received from them as the two spirits teased their mistress, "oh as if you wouldn't be doing the same if your beloved was here," Anubis said sarcastically.

Kushina smirked at the Egyptian underworld god before she said, "if Kisuke was here you can bet that I'd be giving him plenty of kisses but I wouldn't tell everyone that I was only going to talk to him. I'd fully admit that I was going to go snog my fiancé before he had to leave," at that the two spirits gave her a conceding nod, she was right, she would just come right out and say it. After all the two were engaged so it's not like they would be breaking any rules of courtship by snogging, the only stipulation of their betrothal contract had already been met, at the age of fifteen she had been examined and found to be untouched.

She shook her head and left the Great Hall to go outside until it was time to board the train and head home.

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Halfway through the train ride to London, Kushina had decided to visit her aunt Lily, uncle Isshin, Sirius, Coyote, Jushiro, Tonks and the other adults, that included her parents, riding on the train in their compartment. No more than twenty minutes after she entered the compartment the train slowed then stopped and Kushina's Denreishinki started going off, she answered it, "hello?"

"Kushina-San, you have a group of just over a hundred Dementors surrounding your current location, they appear to be closing in at a steady rate it should only been fifteen minutes before they reach you. Can you and the others in your location handle them or will you require assistance," Nemu asked softly.

Kushina grinned slightly before she reassured Nemu confidently, "don't worry, we can handle them. After all, I didn't get my daily morning spar with Kenpachi today."

"Alright," Nemu said before Kushina heard a person murmuring near Nemu and Nemu said, "oh and Captain Urahara wanted us to remind you that he'll be a little late tonight."

Kushina laughed before she said, "alright, I'll remember that, do me a favor and remind Kisuke not to forget to bring a few genjutsu bracelets home with him tonight."

Nemu demurred but assured her that she would remind her captain about that, she then bade Kushina farewell and disconnected the transmission. The other shinigami, Sirius and the only Arrancar in the compartment looked at her curiously, she smiled at them brightly as she put the Denreishinki away and said, "we are currently surrounded by more than a hundred Dementors."

Sirius blinked before he asked, "do I get to have some fun," he started bouncing eagerly in place, while next to him Severus had rolled his eyes. After they had bonded Severus had found a sketch pad full of images of the Seireitei and Rukongai, his own memories from that life had come back to him over the course of a month after finding the sketches. As such, Severus knew that after so long of not fighting both Sirius and Nejibana were itching for a brawl with some Hollows.

He then took Cassiopeia from Sirius and held her in his lap, she stared at her bouncing mother with a curious look in her dark gaze. Severus snorted at the pleading pout that his husband was sending their goddaughter, Kushina laughed before she had nodded at Sirius as she said, "yes, Sirius, you get to have some fun."

She then turned to the rest of the compartment and asked with dancing eyes, "who else wants to have some fun with some Dementors?"

Jushiro rose from his seat next to Tonks, he dropped his hand to his side and unsheathed Sogyo no Kotowari, all of the shinigami on the train had forwent using gigai since they would be using a port key to reach Elysian Isle. When she had found out the name of the isle she had inherited was named Kushina had laughed for over three minutes while barely taking a breath, Kisuke had also been amused since the isle was named for one of the places for the dead in the Greek underworld, the Elysian field. Thankfully Luna had convinced Sajin to forgo his gigai for the last month of the school year so all of the students were used to seeing the large anthromorphic wolf walking around with the fifth year Ravenclaw. As all of those willing to fight stood up James asked his daughter, "just how close are the Dementors to the train?"

"Close enough," Kushina said grimly before she ran her fingers along her bracers after she had tossed her robe to the side she said, "but they are far enough away that we can get some of the others that are on the train to help." She glanced around the compartment as she did she took note of those who were standing; Coyote, Isshin, Jushiro, Sirius, Chojiro and Sajin, who had plucked Luna from where she had been sitting in his lap then he placed her into his seat. "Spread out, Sajin," the wolf captain looked at her, "find Tetsuzaemon then get on top of the train, we have a higher amount of Reiatsu, if we are outside the train we are not only the tastier option but also the easier. Sirius, go find Tia, she should be with Charlie, he planned to spend the train ride with his siblings." Sirius started moving as soon as she said his name as he left the compartment she called after him, "grab Rukia while you're at it!"

She then smirked at the three remaining shinigami and single Arrancar before she became serious as she said, "gentlemen, lets get out asses up on the roof." As she left the compartment via the window she sent her parents a reassuring look, all the pair could do was thank this King that their daughter always spoke of with fondness that the train was not moving. She had gripped the upper edge of the window and swung herself upward, once she was on the roof she used her chakra to keep herself stuck there as she helped the four men onto the roof.

As she glanced up the train she saw Tia, Sirius and Rukia spaced out evenly, she then looked the other way and saw Sajin standing at the ready while Tetsuzaemon was standing four compartments away from his captain. She nodded approvingly before she said, "spread out and raise your Reiatsu as much as you can to draw them to you." Everyone nodded in agreement but while the others begun to move either up or down the train, Coyote had stayed in place. Kushina glanced at him before she nodded, she knew he wouldn't be using his Resurreccion state since Lilynette was already on Elysian Isle. Upon seeing the stubborn look in his eyes she nodded again as she said, "I'll be two compartments away from you," she then clapped him on the shoulder and left.

As she summoned her zanpakuto's combined shikai she idly wondered who Amelia was getting along with the bodyguard the King had loaned her for her entire term as Minister of Magic for Britain. As soon as it had been printed that Amelia was the Minister, her niece Susan had worried about her aunt's safety since Moldy Shorts and his Death Munchers would prefer someone more sympathetic to their cause to be in the office. Kushina had asked the King for a favor, she wanted to borrow one of the unseated guards, once she had explained just why she wanted to borrow the guard the King swiftly agreed since it would annoy Tom Riddle A.K.A. Voldemort A.K.A. the idiot who messed with soul magic. As she waited for the Dementors to arrive she smirked as she remembered introducing the pair to each other, as she did she idly wondered who Susan would get along with him since he'd also double as Susan's bodyguard.

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Kushina led her subordinate through the halls of level one to the office of the minister of magic, she smirked when she saw Percy sitting at the desk of the Ministers personal secretary. She stopped in front of the desk and said, "hey Percy, I see you got a promotion."

Percy looked up at her and smiled cheerfully as he said, "hello, Kushina." He glanced at his baby brother's best friend then at her companion, the man was fairly tall with a slim but well muscled built, he had the same spiky orange hair as Ichigo but unlike the reincarnated Slytherin seeker he had brown eyes. If it weren't for that fact along with the fact that the two men had different facial features Percy would have sworn that the two men were identical twins. "Yes, Minister Bones promoted me to the position of Senior Undersecretary, she had muttered something about me being perfect for her before she did though," Percy looked confused as he remembered her words.

Kushina snickered quietly as she realized that Amelia had foreseen a way to keep her favorite undersecretary and make sure that Madam Umbridge did not come near her office for the foreseeable future. She had sometimes bullied her way into Minister Fudge's personal secretary but the first time she had tried that with Percy while Madam Bones was conducting a private interview with a key witness to a crime he had put the fear of red haired secretaries into her and proved that he was truly a lion of Gryffindor. The woman knew that if Percy had been willing to do that for the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, he would be even worse with the same woman as the Minister. By promoting Percy to the position she did Amelia had killed two birds with one stone, she got to keep Percy and she kept someone she highly disliked away from her.

Upon seeing Percy's curious glance toward her companion she said, "Percy, as you well know, Madam Bones was a big target for the Death Munchers before she became Minister. Now that she is the Minister she'll have the Death Eaters and Voldyshorts after her. I've asked the King to borrow one of his guards, he's agreed to loan Minister Bones one on the condition that he will only be her guard so long as she is the Minister. Further more," she stared him down as she said, "he and he alone will determine if an area is safe enough for the Minister to enter or not, these two terms are non negotiable. Minister Bones appointment to the position has severely annoyed Voldemort and the King is of the opinion that anything that annoys Voldemort is a very, very good thing."

Percy looked amused as he said with a raised eyebrow, "I take it that you want to introduce the Minister to her new bodyguard." Kushina had merely nodded in confirmation so Percy pressed a button on his desk as he said, "Minister, Lady Noir is here to see you."

Kushina raised an eyebrow and wondered silently as to just when the Ministry had started using intercom systems to communicate when she heard Amelia's voice as she said, "send her in, Percy."

Kushina then led the way to the door, the young man followed her just as silently as he had into the outer office. Amelia looked up from her paperwork as the door opened, she raised her eyebrow at Kushina's attire, Kushina was clad in a mix of her ANBU and Shinigami uniforms, it consisted of tight yet loose pants, an open backed turtle neck shirt that left her back bare from her nape to the base of her spine. Only two inches at the bottom kept the shirt in place, the backless shirt also showed of Thanatos' claim on her. When Amelia noticed the man that had come in with Kushina, her eyebrow went up even further, from what she could tell he was clad in a similar manner, at least on the lower half he was however she couldn't tell about the upper half since he was covered by a black cloak with red clouds at the bottom and a red stripe going down the middle of the front. The man was tall from what she could guess he looked to be between the ages of twenty to thirty-five years old, of course in the wizarding world the way you looked didn't really show a good indication of how old you are, after all look at the Prewett twins they didn't really seem as if they were almost fifty, at most they looked like they were in their mid to late thirties. Not even Minerva looked her age when she wasn't playing stern teacher, as such Amelia didn't let the visible age of the young man make her any less wary of him but since he was with Kushina she doubted that he was here to harm her.

After several moments she asked, "how can I help you, Lady Noir? And may I know who your companion is? I can tell from his eye color and facial features that he isn't Lord Noir."

Amelia noticed that the mans lips had begun to quirk upward as if he was beginning to smile, however, before he could Kushina had clapped her hand over his mouth. "What have I told you about smiling," she asked with a mild glare at him.

After she had removed her hand from over his mouth he pouted at her before he said, " _don't smile at people who don't know you well. Your smile is somewhat perverted and most people, but especially women, don't like someone smiling at them in a perverted way."_ Amelia could tell that he was quoting Kushina word for word due to the emphasis he had placed on the words as he had spoken them. The man then turned toward monocle wearing woman and said with respect in his voice, "you and your secretary were the only ones to notice the differences between myself and Lord Noir."

Amelia scowled at that before she scrawled something down on a piece of parchment she then said, "I still don't know who you are or why the two of you are here." As she spoke she had stared at them, her eyes flicked between them, although she knew that it was extremely unlikely that they were here to kill her, she was still slightly wary.

The man gave her a shallow bow and said with a glint of mischief in his blue eyes, "my name is Yahiko and I'm an unranked member of the Kings guard. Upon finding out about your appointment to the position of Minister and how much said appointment annoyed Tom Riddle, the King decided to make sure you are well protected for the entire time you are in office."

Amelia stared at him with raised eyebrows before she stated, "in other words, the King of the Seireitei sent me a personal bodyguard." Yahiko nodded at that, she sighed before she turned to Kushina and asked her, "are there any conditions that I should be aware of?"

Kushina nodded at her question before she said, "yes, two conditions were set down by the King. Condition number one: he is to remain your permanent bodyguard until the end of your time as Minister however long that may be. Condition number two: if he says that an area isn't safe for you to enter then it simply isn't safe for you, his job is your safety it will not do if he doesn't keep you safe so please listen to him. Yahiko was a Shinobi before he became a Shinigami and one of the things that Shinobi do is play bodyguard so let him do his job."

Madam Bones sighed before she nodded as she asked, "is there a contract I need to sign? Also if he's going to be guarding me, he'll need to sign a contract of his own."

As Kushina handed her the contract to look over and sign, Yahiko had nodded as he said, "of course, Minister Bones, a contract between myself and you is perfectly understandable. I suggest that only your secretary and yourself remain aware that I wasn't hired by you to be your bodyguard."

After she looked over the contract Amelia signed it, the contract duplicated itself and she handed one copy to Kushina before she placed her copy in her drawer. She then wrote up a contract for herself and Yahiko after she had finished writing it she handed it back over to Yahiko to look over. He looked it over then signed it with a flourish, Amelia then signed it with Kushina's signature marking it last as their witness.

Unknown to the three people in the room, a copy of the contracts appeared in the Contract, Bonds and Oaths department in the Department of Mysteries. It wouldn't be for many years that anyone would find the Copy and by then Amelia would be long retired from the position, having long passing the reins to someone else.

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Kushina tightened her grip on her scythes as the Dementors spread along the train, just as she predicted they had zeroed in on the Shinigami and Arrancar, completely ignoring the people inside of the train. "Just over a hundred Dementors my ass," she muttered to herself as twenty Dementors converged upon her and she began fighting men. She sent her scythes flying and easily decapitated three of them with one blow before she jerked the chains causing the scythes to fly back at her killing five more Dementors on the way. As she caught the two hilts she had glanced around to see if anyone needed help or if they were able to continue without requesting a lift of their Reiatsu limiters.

Further down the train Sirius was gleefully killing the creatures that had made his life a living hell for twelve years, Sirius had yet to enter Shikai and she doubted that he ever would with this group. Two compartments away from his was Rukia, she was in Shikai and seemed to be dancing as she slaughtered the Dementors. Another two compartments down Tia was killing the Dementors with ease, a few times she fired ceros at them the few times a cero had hit it's target the Dementor was completely disintegrated from the blast.

Coyote was viciously killing the Dementors around him with extreme prejudice, a fact that appeared to both amaze and startle her Aunt. With a flick of her wrist Kushina had sent her scythes flying in opposite directions, the move beheaded another five Dementors dropping the number surrounding her to seven total. Isshin had easily taken care of his twenty and was holding his position just in case a few Dementors got the brilliant idea to come his way. Sajin and Tetsuzaemon had done the same but Sajin had two Dementors left the last time she had glanced in his direction while Tetsuzaemon had three left. Chojiro had also demolished his twenty while Jushiro seemed to be taking advantage of his better health to play with his prey.

Kushina rolled her eyes before she turned her attention back to her opponents rather than pay attention to her comrades since they seemed to be handling themselves just fine. She used shunpo to appear behind one, she gripped its robe and flung it into another Dementor she then buried a scythe hilt deep in yet another Dementors skull. She then sent the other scythe flying toward the two that she had caused to fly away from the compartment, the move caused the scythe to pass right through their torsos and the Dementors disintegrated. "Three down four to go," she muttered to herself as she stood still and pulsed her Reiatsu, the four left surrounded her.

She smirked as they did before she swung one scythe behind her, it attached itself to the chain at her lower back and she dropped to one knee as she threw the other scythe into the air. She knew she had enough clearance for her next move, she gripped the chain leading to the airborne scythe and rotated her wrist slightly. This caused the motion to carry its way up the chain which made the scythe turn in a vague circle.

The Dementors began to close the circle they made around her and when they were close enough she jerked the rotating scythe downward. As it plummeted she started the motion that would make the scythe fly around her in a circle, the scythe ripped right through the four Dementors exactly as she had intended it to when she dropped down onto one knee. She then caught the scythe and stood up from her position, when she had glanced around she noticed that all of the Dementors appeared to be destroyed.

However to make sure that no more were waiting in the wings she took out her Denreishinki and called the twelfth division, Nemu answered with, "how can I be of service, Kushina-San?"

"Hey, Nemu, can you check to see if there are anymore Dementors or did we get them all?" Kushina asked as she had signaled for the others to hold their positions, they all signaled back their acknowledgement of her command.

A few moments later Nemu said, "yes, you got them all, it's safe for you to stand down."

Kushina sighed in relief as she signaled for the others to stand down and return to their previous activities before she said, "thanks Nemu. I'll talk to you later, alright?"

"Of course Kushina-San, I look forward to our next discussion," Nemu replied softly before she ended the call so she could return to her work.

It had never yet failed to amuse Kisuke just who well his current lieutenant and his fiancé got along, Nemu would use Kushina as a sounding board for her experiments often coming away from their discussions with new ideas for some new piece of technology. Most of the Research and Development department had been glad when Kisuke had forbidden any more human experimentation unless it had been approved of by Central 46, the Soutaicho and the King, the experiment could only be done if all three had given their approval. Approval from the King could be retrieved easily since the eleventh division was training the Kings guards into the ground, all anyone had to do was give a letter to the person scheduled to go next to train them in order to request permission to speak to the King.

"You can go back into the compartment, Nemu gave us the all clear," Kushina told Coyote as she summoned fifteen clones and had them henge into random Shinobi. The clones spread out on the train, Coyote snorted but followed her as she swung back into the compartment, she snickered as she saw Sirius settling back into his body. Sajin had once again settled back into his seat with Luna on his lap reading the most recent issue of the Quibbler, Sajin was reading it over her shoulder.

Chojiro had gone back to reading his book while Coyote returned to his nap with his head pillowed in Lily's lap, she ran her fingers through his loosed dark hair, she smirked as the Arrancar began to purr in contentment. Kushina sat down next to her parents and scooped up her little brother, as she teased him by holding the end of her braid just out of his reach she asked, "so, which place do you want to stay while on the isle?"

"I'd prefer to be close to a forest, for the full moons," Remus remarked as he idly turned a page in his book. James nodded in agreement as he laid down on the bench and used Remus' right thigh as a pillow before he pulled out a copy of Transfiguration Monthly.

Kushina tapped her lower lip with a quill before she said, "alright, I think I have a village near a forest. I'll have the House elves prepare one of the villa's for you to stay in," she wrote down the request on a sheet of parchment.

As she jotted down their request Coyote had murmured to Lily, "can we stay in the same place as we did during the winter holiday?" Upon seeing her Aunts wistful look Kushina wrote down the preferred housing of the pair, as she did she nodded an affirmative to her Aunt.

Luna then spoke up as she said, "I think that somewhere between the sea and a forest would be a lovely place to stay at." She pouted up at Sajin until he had agreed with her and Kushina wrote down the younger girls preference as she silently snickered over how quickly the Ravenclaw had wrapped the large captain around her finger.

After she had jotted down everyone's preferred areas to stay at on her Isle she left the compartment to find a few of the others to find out where they wanted to stay. Knowing Hermione, she would want to stay near the Isle's Library, the library had been constantly updated throughout the years but even when new versions of books were added the older version was always kept. She knew that as soon as Hermione found out that the isle's library held some of the only known copies of certain books the brown eyed girl would be redoing most of her summer work to include any new information she discovered.

Since the baby dragon had already been transported to the Isle, she had wrote down for Charlie, Tia, Bill, Fleur along with Molly and Arthur to be placed in the village next to the dragon pen. The Isle also acted as a small dragon reservation that house the only population of Chinese Celestial and Imperial dragons. Thankfully both species were extremely intelligent and unlike the other species of dragons they could speak the human tongue, due to their intelligence and relatively gentle natures the dragons had free reign to roam the isle. The dragons had been startled when she had transformed into her secondary animagus form in front of them before she had challenged the younger ones to a race. The dragon pens were located near a village that resided halfway between the sea and a small forest, she made a mental note to ask the twins, Yumichika, Isane and Percy where they wanted to stay.

Chad, Shunsui, Ichigo, Byakuya, Masaki, Grimmjow, Uryu, the Kurosaki family, Rodolphus, Rabastan along with Renji and Ulquiorra would be staying in the same village as Chojiro, Minerva, Jushiro, Tonks, Kenpachi and Hermione. She still needed to ask Ron, Rukia, Draco, Theodore and Tetsuzaemon where they wanted to stay, she had already found out where the Greengrass' wanted Daphne and Astoria to stay for the pair's time on the isle.

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Naruto stared angrily at the scroll that his Ryuu-Okasan had left him, he had been attempting to perform the jutsu inside with little success, the jutsu allowed the user to combine their elemental affinity with another jutsu or to channel it into a weapon. The cheetah's had long since helped him find out his elemental affinity, which his primary had been wind with a secondary affinity to water. He ran his hands through the hand signs required by the technique one more time, he then channeled chakra into the knife that Ryuu had given him to practice with before he threw it slightly off target. To his surprise as the blade passed the tree, an invisible blade cut the tree clean through, after he gaped for several moments he cheered at his success. After he had finished celebrating said success he turned his attention to the next technique in the scroll.

Meanwhile, in another country, a tall man had paused in mid-walk before he murmured with a frown, "why do I get the feeling that Minato and I had made a mistake by only making her promise not to teach only some of her invented jutsus with anyone, including family members and not all of them…" The man ended up shrugging as he sighed before he had then continued walking back to the camp as he quietly said to himself, "too late now anyway." He looked up at the cloud covered sky as he continued, "I miss you both, I miss your laughter, your smiles and yes, partner, I even miss the way Minato would get all of us drunk before he convinced us of a supposedly brilliant idea." He smirked to himself as he quietly snickered before he said with a gleam in his dark eyes, "heaven help the village if any child the pair of you have while I'm gone takes after both of you instead of just one." He then scowled as he muttered in an annoyed tone, "and that son of mine had better not have gotten addicted to reading that trash of Jiraiya-Sama's or I'm going to beat that sage until he's black and blue. Then I'm going to sic my wolves on him," he continued to mutter what he would do to the white haired man if his son was reading the same novels that his partner read.

Back in Konoha, Naruto had suddenly sneezed, he then rubbed at his nose before he said, "I wonder what that was about," he then turned his attention back to a jutsu he was fairly sure could be used to prank the idiotic trio.

On the other side of the village from Naruto a silver haired scarecrow had a shiver make it's way up his spine and he twitched slightly before he ignored the tingle of apprehension from as he turned his attention back to the gaudy orange book in his hand.

However, near the border of Suna, a white haired pervert had felt the same chill as Kakashi and he sneezed, the women he had been spying on heard the noise and upon spotting him they gave chase. As he ran away from the women he had muttered to himself, "I wonder who cursed my name, I haven't felt a chill like that since Sakumo and Kushina returned from that mission to find Itachi saying 'Icha, Icha' all the time." He shuddered when he remembered just what Mikoto had done when she had found out about her baby's new favorite word, he ended up spending several weeks in the hospital when she finally got through with him. When Tsunade had found out about what happened on one hand she was furious but on the other hand she was vastly amused, she was angry since Jiraiya had taught a child that word but on the other Mikoto Uchiha had beat him until he was black and blue.

In the Uchiha village Mikoto suddenly snickered as she remembered how Jiraiya had been terrified to even look after Itachi for an hour much less a day after she had gotten through with him. Of course once word had spread about her having beaten one of the Sannin into the hospital almost no one outside of the village wanted to face her in combat, which had been very amusing to Fukaku and the rest of the clan. Kushina had joked that Mikoto was gaining as fearsome a reputation as she had, Mikoto had smiled sadly as she remembered the lecture that Sakumo had given Jiraiya. _'Sometimes I really miss that silver wolf,'_ she thought to herself as she ate a bite of red velvet cake.

' _Hokage knows that Kushina mourned him and was viciously protective of Kakashi, I know that if Sakumo was alive when those two had died he would have all but adopted their son. He would have snapped at anyone who had thought it was a good idea to not tell Naruto about his parents or the Fox,'_ she inwardly said in monologue to herself as she absently ate the slice of cake that Winky had brought her. _'After all, Kushina had done the same with Kakashi-Kun, she had took him in, taught him and tried to make him realize that his father had been a hero even if he had committed suicide.'_ She idly thought to herself before she murmured aloud, "I wonder if Sakumo-San has been reborn. Kushina hasn't mentioned seeing him and she told us how Obito and Rin were doing so the only reason she wouldn't mention him was if she hadn't seen him…"

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The students got off the train and spoke amongst themselves with awe filled tones, before they had left the train each of them had thanked the ones who fought the Dementors from the of the train. Most of the waiting parents were startled when the shinigami, adults and Kushina got off the train, each of them had been given a round of applause along with a standing ovation from the students. Most of them had returned the gesture with a bow or a nod before they either apparated or used a port key to reach Elysian Isle.

The students told their parents about the way those that just left had fought and killed some Dementors who had attacked the train, this information caused most of the parents to go into shock. Amelia had just met her niece at the station and had given a genial nod to Kushina as she had murmured, "good day, Lady Noir. The day that the event is scheduled for is the thirty first, correct," she had asked as Yahiko had also nodded to Kushina while his henged shadow clone took it's place beside Susan.

Kushina had nodded back as one of the house elves from the isle had retrieved everyone's possessions from the train, this included Draco's and Theodore's trunks. "Yes, its on the thirty first and Yahiko can escort you as he knows where you will be staying at on the isle." Amelia had nodded as she watched Kushina make her way to the designated apparating spot and disappeared to her isle. She then held her hand out to Yahiko while Yahiko's clone had done the same for Susan.

The four then disapparate to the ancestral home of the House of Bones that one day Susan would inherit, however, that would only happen when Amelia stepped down as Head of the House of Bones. Even if Amelia married and had children Susan would remain Amelia's heir, she had made a promise to her deceased brother and she would keep it not matter what. Whoever she married would simply have to understand that the House of Bones already had an heir and there was no changing Amelia's mind about it unless Susan chose to step down as heir.

Yahiko's eyes had gleamed when he had realized that the woman he had been given the duty to defend from harm, be that harm physical, emotional or mental, was single and he had contemplated if she'd be a good match for Nagato. He had made up his mind that if there was a way to introduce the pair of them to each other he'd do it in a heartbeat, until then though he'd discourage every suitor she had from calling upon her.

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Kushina reappeared on her isle, one of the house elves appeared and said, "mistress, we've gotten all of the accommodations ready to be occupied. Is there anything else that you need to have done?"

Kushina hummed thoughtfully before she paced along the front of the temple she had appeared in front of before she said, "make sure to prepare the hospital for a twin birth, one of the guests is currently pregnant with twins. She should have given birth either late last month or early this month but so far she hasn't gone into labor…" The house elf nodded enthusiastically before it disappeared with a pop, she snorted at the way the elf had been acting as she left for the village next to the temple she was in front of.

As she walked to the villa she would be staying in she wistfully murmured, "I wish this wedding could be held in Konoha so Naruto, Kakashi, Iruka and my students would be able to participate." She sighed before she shrugged with a smirk then said, "oh well, I suppose that could wait until the two of us return to Konoha." A sad look flashed across her eyes and face before she whispered softly as she hugged herself, "I just wish that Sakumo could be a part of this, even Kisuke misses our wolf and he doesn't even really remember him…"

She then entered the villa and headed to the room that she would be sharing with Kisuke after he arrived on the isle, at least they would share it until the night before the wedding, tradition had to be followed. After all, it's bad luck to see one's bride before the ceremony, however there was no way she was giving up the chance to sleep in his arms for almost an entire month!

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The next day, Kushina had left the isle for the Elemental Countries, she had decided to play a few pranks along with visiting her godchild and Kisame. She had shifted into her cheetah animagus form before she left the area that Dobby dropped her off at, she then bounded through the forest. She sometimes took to the branches and leapt among them but she mostly stayed on the ground as she raced below the branches. As she neared the village that Itachi and Kisame had been staying in when her clone had found them she paused for a moment to shift back to human form then she activated the new genjutsu bracelet that Kisuke had made for her. All that this bracelet did was change her eye color from gold to gray and aged her into her late twenties to mid thirties.

She strolled out of the forest, she then made her way into the village where Itachi and Kisame were staying, she had smiled brightly while greeting people as she walked. One of the civilians that she had stopped to speak with had recognized her as the 'Crimson Ghost' after a few moments the young woman asked, "what brings you to our village, milady?"

Kushina's eyes gleamed as she replied casually, "I'm just checking on my godchild and their husband, my godchild is currently pregnant. The last time I had checked on them the pair were staying in your village and I had promised her mother that I'd keep a close watch on them." She then tilted her head to the side as she said, "my godchild is about five foot ten inches tall, she has black hair and eyes, she's a rather quiet person while her husband dotes on her. Are they by any chance still in the village," she asked softly.

The woman's eyes widened before she shook her head negatively as she said, "no, I'm sorry but the only pair that matches that your description left our village three days ago."

Kushina frowned slightly as her eyes unfocused in deep thought before she asked, "did they say where they were heading?"

The young woman nodded before she said happily, "yes, they mentioned something about visiting Wave for a while then heading to Konoha for some event." She had then frowned thoughtfully as she said slowly, "it'll probably take a while for them to reach Wave since she's pregnant and I doubt her husband will push her."

Kushina shook her head with a fond smile on her face before she nodded gratefully to the young woman as she said, "she probably wants to go see the Chuunin exams, it's been a while since she has had the chance to see them. Lightning is currently hosting the first exam of the year but Konoha is supposed to host the next one in six months. They'll probably stop in Wave to rest for a while before they continue on to Konoha."

The much younger woman blinked before she said cheerfully, "that's probably what they will do."

Kushina nodded before she said absently as she walked away from the village, "thank you for the assistance. I'll go see if I can catch up to them, after all, I do need to check up on her and her baby's health." She then left the village, completely unaware of how the villagers would treat her son with a great deal of respect when he visited in a couple of months. When the other Genin team assigned to the mission with Team Seven question the villagers about their actions the villagers would simply reply, _**"we respect his mother a great deal. Thus until he proves to be completely unlike his mother in nature and temperament we will treat him with the same respect we would give her. To do otherwise would be a mark of great disrespect to a woman we highly respect, besides, we try our best to not disrespect the dead."**_

However, she was completely ignorant to this fact and thus raced after Itachi and Kisame without a care in the world, as she ran she summoned a pair of cheetahs, she glanced at them both before she said, "Yuudai, Yuuki, I'm trying to find Itachi-Chan." She then smirked at the two trackers as she said lightly, "after all, I don't want them to miss my wedding and I need to give them a port key along with needing to find out where the pair would like to stay on the isle."

The two cheetahs snorted but started to search for Itachi's scent, they picked it up immediately and followed it until they reached a cliff face about three day's travel, at least it was three days from a non Shinobi standpoint, from Wave. They looked puzzled as the scent trail ended right at the cliff but didn't continue up the face or start back up at the top, "the scent trail ends here, Mistress Kushina," Yuudai stated with a hind of confusion to her voice. Yuuki nodded in agreement with her sister, as she stared at the cliff face darkly, Kushina on the other hand, looked at the wall with eyes alight with curiosity.

She then stepped up forward and held out a hand, she smirked as her hand passed through the cliff face, both cheetah's snorted before Yuuki said, "so the entrance is hidden under an advanced genjutsu. It's probably keyed to only Itachi-Chan's and Kisame-San's blood kin, which you are due to the direct blood relation between the Uzumaki and Uchiha clans."

With a wave of her hand and an idly murmured, "I can take it from here," from Kushina, the two trackers disappeared back to the cheetah's home, wherever that was. Kushina then walked through the genjutsu to find herself in a small tunnel that ended with a door, she sauntered up to the door and knocked on it firmly.

On the other side of the door Kisame looked up at it oddly when he heard the knock, Itachi stuck her head out of the kitchen doorway and said, "answer the door, you're the last of your clan so it has to be a relative of mine." Kisame shrugged as he did as his pregnant mate bade him to do, he blinked in shock when he spotted Itachi's godmother on the other side. He numbly let her into the hide out, after she heard the door open then close Itachi poked her head into the living area again, upon seeing Kushina the dark haired woman beamed. "Aunty 'Shina, what brings you to see me and Kisame," the ex-ANBU operative asked as she dried her hands with a dark blue towel.

Kushina temporarily ignored the question posed to her as she hugged the female version of her godson before she said, "it's a good thing that you weren't well known for this jutsu back in Konoha because if you had been I imaging that you would have had a male fan club along with your female one!" Itachi groaned at the thought and Kushina said while holding up a pair of bracelets, one had a shark engraved on it while the other had a crow. "These are permanent Portkey's to Elysian Isle, they are also keyed to transport you back to wherever you had originally portkeyed from," she handed the bracelet with the crow engraved on it to Kisame and the one with the shark to Itachi.

She then glared at them both before she said with a stern tone, "I expect both of you to be at my wedding, besides the two of you need to inform the clan about Itachi's condition." Both Akatsuki members winced but nodded as she said in a more chipper tone, "can I assume that the two of you either plan to watch the Chuunin exams that will be held in Konoha in six months or will at least be there to see the promotions given?"

Itachi nodded before she said softly, " we will try to make it to see the entire exam but only time will tell if we will." The dark eyed woman sipped at a cup of cinnamon flavored tea, she had thankfully received some potions from her godmother to alleviate her morning sickness. As she sipped the tea she asked Kushina slyly, "so how soon after the wedding can we expect Naruto to gain a sibling?"

As his mate/partners question Kisame had spat out his mouthful of tea, as he cleaned up his mess he heard as Kushina said, "at least four years. Kisuke and I want to make sure that old Voldy's dead as well as make sure that Naruto knows that we're not trying to replace him by having another child." As she had said that she had settled into her position on the couch opposite of where Itachi was reclined. She then nodded toward Itachi's still flat stomach, the dark eyed woman kept herself in good shape plus like her mother she was probably carrying the child toward her back instead of nearer to the front of her abdomen. "Can I assume that you intend to leave Akatsuki and either return to Konoha or stay in the Uchiha village with your mother until the child is old enough to be trained?"

Itachi nodded as she dropped her hand to her abdomen as she said, "yes, I have enough evidence to damn the idiotic trio for their crimes against the village and the clan. Only a few of Akatsuki members are not willing to either swear neutrality or allegiance with Konoha." The dark eyes flashed mischievously as she said with a wicked smile, "in fact the only ones not willing are Tobi, otherwise known as Madara Uchiha and Zetsu. Both Hidan and Sasori are on the fence, Sasori will do whatever Deidara wants while it will take a bit of convincing to get Hidan to transfer his loyalty."

Kisame snorted as he said with a sly grin, "I bet he'd turn on Madara in a heartbeat if we introduce him to Thanatos."

Kushina raised an eyebrow at the blue skinned man as she said, "alright, I'll bite, why would this Hidan person defect if he met Thanatos?" Thanatos appeared beside his wielder as she asked that, it was clear from the look on his face that he too wondered just why someone would defect upon meeting him.

Kisame looked over at Itachi who had a smirk on her face before he looked back over at Kushina, he then said, "Hidan is a worshipper of Jashin, who is a death god that wields a scythe." He then gestured to the stunned spirit as he said, "correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that somewhat describe Thanatos here? His sword can transform into a scythe and if he appeared outside of your inner world he could wield it if you wanted him to or in your defense. Convince Hidan that Jashin is just another name that Thanatos uses and he'll be loyal to him and thus to you for the rest of his very long existence."

Kushina and Thanatos blinked in shock before they turned their attention to Itachi seeking confirmation of Kisame's idea, Itachi had nodded at their inquiring glances. Kushina snorted before she said, "alright, we'll give it a shot. But how are we going to show Thanatos to him," she asked as she leaned backward into the cushions of the couch.

Kisame grinned as he leaned forward and his white eyes gleamed mischievously as he said, "I have the perfect plan for that!"

Two hours later a viable plan had been fleshed out that didn't involve any lying by Thanatos but that would still convince the death happy scythe wielder that the zanpakuto spirit his god. Kushina had then left her godchild and Kisame behind to have some time alone as she headed toward Suna, her cousin, many times removed of course, needed a reminder of how to properly treat his children. She hadn't been altogether happy with how he used his youngest son as a weapon and how he ignored his other two children unless it was to give them a mission. Or to make sure their younger brother hadn't snapped and was going to slaughter the entire village.

Four hours after she had arrived in Suna she happily headed home in time to eat dinner with her parents before she headed back to her own villa to go to sleep. She was roused a mere hour later when she felt Kisuke slide into bed behind her and muscles she hadn't realized were tense relaxed. She then snuggled backwards into his bare chest and when he nuzzled her neck she had made several happy noises before she slipped back into sleep.


	28. CHapter Twenty-Seven: Of Tests and Surprises

**Chapter Twenty-Seven:** **Of Tests and Surprises**

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Naruto finished the paint job on his latest prank and he heard shouts from the ANBU, "honestly I don't know why they all get so uptight when I pull a prank. After all, Ryuu-Okaasan told me that the Yondaime somewhat liked pranks, heck his wife was a prankster! Plus the Shodai and Nadaime didn't mind pranks either so why do they always get so mad about me trying to cheer up the village!" The blond pouted to himself as he ran away from the angry mob, he was wearing black pants with a black tee-shirt and had a white coat around his waist. His goggles were pushed up onto his forehead, he looked backwards behind him, when he saw Kotetsu and Izumo he blanched slightly.

He then led them on a merry chase all across the rooftops sometimes doubling over his own trail, as they ran past a wooden fence Naruto formed a shadow clone and had it take his place temporarily while he darted up against the fence. He had hid by placing a sheet painted to look like the fence in front of him, once his clone along with Kotetsu and Izumo had darted away he let the sheet drop down before he laughed while rubbing the back of his head. As he did he thought to himself smugly, _'ha, this will make Ryuu-Okasan laugh when I tell her about it,'_ while out loud he laughed as he said, "man, that was easy!"

All the sudden he heard a very familiar voice come from behind him as it yelled, "oh, yeah, Naruto!" The blond winced and scrunched his shoulders down before he had leapt away from Iruka's loud voice in his sensitive ears.

As he stared up at him the blond said, "where did you come from Iruka-Sensei?" He leaned forward from his sitting position on the ground, he had his hands resting on the ground behind him and he asked, "what are you doing here?!"

Iruka looked down at him before he pointed a finger at him as he asked, "no, Naruto, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be in class!"

Scene Change

Fifteen minutes later, "I'm at the end of my rope here, Naruto. You failed the graduation test last time and the time before that. And you're messing up again." Iruka was staring down at Naruto as he spoke, the blond was tied up using rope, it was wrapped around the blonds torso pinning his arms to his side. Iruka had allowed Naruto to put on his jacket before he had tied the blond up and dragged him back to the classroom.

"Hmph," was the only response Naruto had deemed to give Iruka's lecture as he looked away from the instructor.

Iruka grinned viciously before he said while he turned away from the sulking blond then pointed in a random direction as he said, "fine. Because you missed it, Naruto, everyone will review the transformation jutsu!"

At that the entire class groaned, even Sasuke, although his groan was so quiet that Shikamaru was barely able to hear it. When the Nara had glanced over at the Uchiha though, the other boys face was impassive as if he didn't find having to review the jutsu troublesome. _'Man, what a drag,'_ the lazy boy thought to himself as he idly wondered just why he had seen a flash of amused annoyance in Sasuke's eyes.

' _Man, Naruto, I don't know why you let everyone else thing you're an idiot. Any fool can see that it takes brains, skills, planning and preparation to pull off those pranks of yours.'_ Sasuke thought to himself as he mentally rolled his eyes at the rest of the villages stupidity when it came to the ramen obsessed boy.

After Sakura and Sasuke had both successfully used the henge to appear to look like Iruka it was Naruto's turn. "This is a total waste of time, Naruto," Shikamaru muttered to Naruto as he slouched at Naruto's left side.

Unknown to the Nara, he was right since Naruto had long since mastered the henge due to his invention, the Oiroke no Jutsu. It helped to have at least a small bit of understanding of the henge to do the jutsu but just learning the jutsu helped with performing the henge. "We always have to pay for your screw ups," Ino had growled to her fellow blond on her left.

"Like I care," Naruto muttered back as he had thought to himself, _'does anyone bother to realize that I use every single one of the skills that the classes I skip out of teach in my pranks? No of course not! Naruto is a idiot so he can't possibly do that! If it weren't for the fact that Ryuu-Okasan asked me to flush out Mizuki-Sensei by pretending to be a naïve idiot, I'd drop the façade right now!'_

' _Do your best, Naruto,'_ Hinata thought to herself as Naruto stepped forward to try his hand at the henge.

Sasuke bit his lower lip hard to keep himself from laughing when Naruto used his Oiroke no Jutsu instead of a regular henge. Iruka gaped at Naruto for several seconds before he fell backwards with a large nose bleed. After Naruto gloated, Iruka had yelled at him, "cut the stupid tricks!"

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After school, Iruka had Naruto on scaffolding cleaning up the graffiti on the Hokage monument, as Naruto cleaned up a red spiral off the Shodai's left cheek he said, "this sucks."

Iruka was sitting on top of the same Hokage's forehead protector, he was looking down at the complaining blond with his arms crossed over his chest. "You're not going home until you've cleaned off every single drop of paint," he called down sternly.

Naruto scowled as he scrubbed the red paint off of the stone, he hadn't been able to find any water based paint so the clean up was taking a while. At Iruka's remark his scowl had deepened and he yelled back up at him, "so what! It's not like there's anyone waiting at home for me!" Naruto inwardly pouted as he grumbled mentally to himself, _'Ryuu-Okasan and Fox-san are busy with their missions. Ryuu-Okasan told me that she should be finished with her mission this year if all went well but first she has to set up a trap so she can't visit for a while…'_ After he had yelled that up at Iruka he had returned to work scrubbing the paint off the monument.

Iruka stared down at the blond for a few minutes before he asked, "Naruto?"

The blond looked up at him with a bland annoyed look in his eyes before he asked, "what do you want now, Sensei?"

Iruka had uncrossed his arms and was resting his forearms on his thighs as he said, "well, I was just thinking…" He scratched his right cheek with his index finger before he said, "maybe after you've cleaned this up, I could take you out for some Ramen."

He then looked down in time to see Naruto grin before he shouted up at Iruka, "now, that is some serious motivation! I'll have this clean in no time!"

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By the time Naruto finished removing the paint from the monuments might had fallen, as promised Iruka took Naruto out for Ramen. As they ate Iruka said, "Naruto," when the blond had hummed the teacher continued by asking, "why would you do that to the Hokage's faces? I mean, you know who the Hokage's are, don't you?"

Naruto finished his mouthful before he said hotly, "of course I do." He ate another bite of Ramen before he finished off his bowl and drank down the broth. "Everybody knows. They were the Shinobi of their time, right? The best of the best. Undefeated ninja champs? And the fourth Hokage was the one who saved the village from the nine tailed fox. He was the most amazing."

In the seal on Naruto's stomach a red haired man face palmed before he muttered to himself, "stop gushing over your dad, dear host of mine. Damn you Kushina for waking me up and making me listen to your son gushing over you mate." The red haired man, or rather demon, settled against the wall and entertained himself by imagining various things to do to the man who dragged him out of his former host against his will to attack Konoha.

Meanwhile in a villa on Elysian Isle a blond haired man suddenly sneezed and a red haired woman next to him sneezed a few minutes later, "someone must be talking about us," she said in an amused tone as she rubbed her nose.

As he rubbed his nose to get rid of the tingling feeling in it Kisuke said, "I guess so since I'm feeling the oddest urge to blush and feel proud for some reason."

However, somewhere in the wilderness a man wearing an orange mask with a black swirl on it suddenly paused in his tracks as a shiver of fear raced down his spine. He glanced around warily, upon finding nothing he muttered, "you're getting paranoid Madara, next thing you know you'll be thinking that Hashirama and Tobirama are coming to get you." He shrugged before he continued on his way while keeping a slightly sharper look out for anyone or anything that might attack him, few that there were that could fight him and possibly win. After all, he had gotten rid of two of his problems in one fell swoop nearly twelve years ago and seventeen years before that a third person who had been strong enough to challenge him and possibly win had taken care of itself.

Back in Konoha, Iruka stared at Naruto due to his comment about the Fourth for several moments before he began to ask, "then why did…"

Naruto interrupted him by saying, "because I'm going to be greater than any of them were, me… Naruto, the next Hokage! A ninja legend. Then everyone will have to stop disrespecting me and look up to me. Believe it!" He had pointed the wide ends of his chopsticks at Iruka, who had been eating mouthful of noodles as he watched the blond. As he stared at the blond boy an odd thought ran through Iruka's head, ' _there's sometimes that he acts so much like his mother that it's almost creepy how no one realizes it.'_

As Iruka finished chewing and swallowing his mouthful Naruto had paused for a moment before he said, "I kinda want to ask a little favor, Iruka-Sensei."

"You want another bowl," asked Iruka thinking that Naruto was still hungry.

To his surprise Naruto had shook his head as he said, "uh-uh, I want to try on your headband. Come on, please?" He had pouted and placed his hands together in a pleading gesture as he asked, while he was asking he had thought to himself, _'actually I'd love another bowl but I don't want to be so full that I can't eat dinner. Dobby would be sad if I don't eat it and his meals are always delicious.'_

Iruka looked up at his forehead protector as he said, "uh… Oh, this?" He then adjusted the band a bit as he said with a smile, "no way. You can only wear the Leaf headband when you finally graduate from the academy and become a ninja. You gotta pass the test tomorrow before I'd let you try on my headband."

Naruto pouted as he said in a put out tone, "that is so uncool!" He almost slipped and told Iruka that Crow had let him try on his ANBU mask when he was seven but he had managed to bite back the comment before it slipped out.

Iruka laughed before he asked teasingly, "hey, is that why you took off your goggles?"

Naruto pouted again before he said, "I want another bowl," as a way to distract the scarred man from the question. Iruka noticed that the blond hadn't answered his question and laughed again as Naruto whined about how mean the Chuunin was.

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After the written test had been turned in Iruka said, "we will now start the final exam. When your name is called proceed to the testing room. The final test will be on… the Clone Jutsu."

At that Naruto inwardly groaned since the Clone jutsu was his worst jutsu and if Mizuki was the other teacher grading the test he'd have to use the regular one instead of the Shadow Clone Jutsu like he planned to. _'Terrific, I can't even show off my clones to Iruka-Sensei yet if Mizuki-Teme is in there,'_ Naruto inwardly wailed in disappointment.

When he entered the room, Naruto's horror was realized when he spotted the familiar form of the other Sensei and inwardly he grumbled, _'great, at this rate I'll never pass!'_ Of course his jutsu failed spectacularly and Naruto was hard pressed to stop himself from yelling at Mizuki when he faked caring about Naruto. _'If it wasn't for my promise to Ryuu-Okasan I'd break your face, Teme,'_ Naruto inwardly growled. In the seal, Kurama looked up from his game of solitaire and clapped at the thoughts going through his hosts head.

As he turned his attention back to the cards the demon murmured, "your mother would be very proud of your creativity and desire to humiliate the fool who pretends to care for you. Of course, she'd be twice as proud to know that you're doing your best to keep your word to her."

Later, Naruto watched glumly as parents congratulated their children about their graduation. Sasuke had disappeared before anyone could congratulate him about passing the test, out of everyone there only him and a few adults were aware that Naruto had failed the exam on purpose. As Naruto tried to figure out what the villagers weren't allowed to talk about Mizuki appeared beside him, when Mizuki took Naruto to go talk, inside the seal Kurama grinned. He had then purred out, "good boy, you've got him right where you want him, now that you have him on your hook all you have to do is reel him in."

As the pair had left, Iruka had watched with suspicious eyes and the Hokage said quietly, "Iruka, there is something I have to speak with you about."

Never taking his eyes off of where Naruto had been sitting Iruka asked, "what is it that we need to discuss, Hokage-Sama?"

The Sandaime pulled down the brim of his hat and said, "Naruto and the exam."

At that proclamation the scarred teacher had given the Sandaime an odd look before he said, "he can't take the exam again. He's taken it three times now."

The Hokage chuckled before he said, "oh, but he can, he failed the final exam on purpose. One of the Jounins has seen him perform a clone jutsu perfectly. He even used a clone two days ago in order to escape Kotetsu and Izumo."

At that Iruka gaped at the Hokage as they walked toward the tower, "then why did he not perform it correctly? Why fail on purpose," Iruka finally asked as they entered the Hokage's office.

"That's something, we'll have to ask Naruto," the Sandaime said quietly before his eyes narrowed and he said, "however, I suspect it has something to do with Mizuki."

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As the sun set Mizuki had just finished explaining to Naruto why Iruka wouldn't allow Naruto to pass without being able to use the clone jutsu. "Then why… Why only me," the blond asked quietly. For once Mizuki told Naruto the truth, "he wants you to be strong with all his heart but that will never happen if he goes easy on you. He's like you, you know," Naruto turned to look at Mizuki at that comment, "no parents, no family."

As he said that Naruto thought to himself, _'you're wrong. He does have a family, he has me, Izumo and Kotetsu, plus if a certain Hound wakes up and has his way then Iruka will have him too.'_ However all that he said aloud was, "but… This time I really wanted to graduate."

Mizuki laughed before he said slyly, "then I guess I'll just have to tell you."

Naruto was also memorizing the conversation so he could report it verbatim as he thought, _'a secret. What the hell is he going on about…'_

Meanwhile in the Sandaime's office, both Iruka and the third were watching the conversation, Iruka was bewildered by the turn it was taking. As Mizuki laid out his lie the brown eyed nin growled like a wolf would before he said, "you bastard. How dare you try to manipulate Naruto's hopes."

As Iruka prepared to storm down there and beat up his former friend for his lies, however the Hokage stopped him by saying, "if Naruto succeeds in learning the first jutsu in the scroll then he'll be considered to have passed the final exam." At Iruka's confused look the Sandaime chuckled as he said, "the first jutsu on the scroll of forbidden jutsu's is the shadow clone jutsu. So if he manages to learn it and perform it then he can be considered to have passed the exam and become a Genin."

"You're going to let him steal the scroll," Iruka murmured in shock, even the ANBU all gaped at him from behind their masks at the thought.

"If Naruto can get past me and steal it then yes, I will give him the honor of being the first to have successfully stolen it and not a fake," the Hokage replied casually.

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It took all of Iruka's self control to keep from slamming Mizuki into a wall before he beat the living hell out of the silver haired Chuunin.

As the Shinobi searched high and low for Naruto the cheetahs watched as the blond memorized several jutsu's in the scroll, after reading on he blanched and said, "good thing this Tobirama guy put that clause in there or that would be disgusting." He made a disgusted face at the jutsu before he read another jutsu further into the scroll.

He read of a way for a person to harness their elemental chakra affinity to augment their taijutsu. He memorized that one to try later on he made a mental note to teach the method to Sasuke since he would probably love to have a way to add fire to his kicks and punches.

After he memorized the scroll he had summoned several clones to spar with, an hour later the cheetah's informed him that Iruka was heading his way. He quickly put the scroll onto his back before he sat down with one leg outstretched and the other with the knee up with his left wrist resting on it, as he sat there he panted as if exhausted. When he saw Iruka's shadow Naruto looked up and saw that Iruka was sweating slightly as well as panting for air before the tanned man said, "it's all over." He then laughed tiredly, to Iruka's false surprise Naruto had laughed as well as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Iruka then straightened up from where he had been leaning over the blond as Naruto stood up and said, "caught me already. Not bad. You're quick, Sensei. I only had enough time to learn one technique," Naruto said while he had thought to himself, _'and memorize at least ten others.'_

Iruka stared down at Naruto as he thought to himself, _'he's been out here practicing. I can tell how hard he's been working.'_

Naruto held his arms out to either side as he said, "listen, Iruka-Sensei, I'm going to show you this amazing jutsu and you're going to let me graduate then everything will be okay. That's the way it works, right? Anyone who learns a jutsu from this scroll passes."

' _If I hadn't seen Mizuki lying to him, I'd be very confused right now,'_ Iruka thought to himself before he leaned back and said teasingly, "well, that all depends on what technique you learned."

Naruto grinned as he proclaimed, "I learned the first one in the scroll. It's a clone technique, that's why I only had enough time to learn one move."

Iruka rubbed the bridge of his nose across the scar there before he said thoughtfully, "well the only reason you failed the exam was because you could perform the clone jutsu." He looked down at Naruto as he crossed his arms and said, "alright, if you can demonstrate the jutsu, then I'll pass you."

Mizuki stared down at the pair in shock, he couldn't believe what he was hearing out of his fellow Chuunin's mouth, _'Iruka's actually thinking about passing the damn demon?!'_

Before Naruto could demonstrate the move Iruka sensed Mizuki and shoved Naruto out of the way of a hail of Kunai's. After several minutes of talking and Mizuki revealing the Fox to Naruto, instead of becoming upset like both men though he would. Instead he said, "well that explains a lot about all the glares and why some of the villagers would call me a monster…"

Naruto then leveled a glare at Mizuki before he growled, "however, when it comes to Iruka-sensei's feelings for me I don't believe you. Time after time, you've lied to me, Mizuki-Sensei, and someone I love warned me about you so I decided to flush you out." Naruto had grinned, unknowingly resembled his mother and the ANBU who knew her that were watching flinched, before he said, "you hurt Iruka-Sensei. For that I'll hurt you back a hundred fold."

Mizuki scoffed at that comment before he said with a smirk, "bring it on, nine tailed fox. I'll make you wish that you never attacked our village!"

As the ANBU moved to intervene with the beginning fight several cheetah's stopped them and a female said, "don't. Our mistress' son can take handle this, we've trained him well after all," the large cat seemed to be smirking at Otter as she said that. As she returned her attention to the fight, "that boy is far too much like his mother, if he should be passed a forehead protector that belonged to someone else it should be his mothers."

The Hokage frowned lightly but he knew that Sakinari was right, Naruto deserved to inherit at least one of his parents headbands and Kakashi had Minato's in a glass case. Since Naruto had a personality similar to his mothers it would only be fitting that he wear the headband that once belonged to her.

Naruto summoned over a hundred clones and Etsuyo dropped down to stand next to Naruto, she rubbed her cheek against his as she purred, "leave some for us, Naru-Chan." She glared at the Chuunin as she snarled, "after all, we do owe him for all the time it took to train out all of your bad habits."

Mizuki gulped at the baleful glare that the summon was giving him as Naruto chirped, "sure thing, Etsuyo!" He and his clones then proceeded to dog pile the traitor, after they had finished beating him up but leaving him conscious enough to hear Etsuyo tell an ANBU, "we'll be sure to report all of his actions to Ibiki-Chan and the Hokage. And we've been watching him for a long time," she said with a smug smirk to the sweat dropping Otter.

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An hour later the Sandaime Hokage was putting away the Scroll of Kinjutsu's, as he did he said idly, "I'm sure that the cheetah's have been teaching you a few tricks."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he laughed before he said sheepishly, "yeah, they've also told me a bit about my mom but they've refused to say anything that concerns my father except that I have his eyes and hair." Inwardly the Hokage was relieved that the cheetah's hadn't told the young blond that his father was the Yondaime Hokage. "They said they would tell me his name after I made it to Chuunin or the age of sixteen, whichever one comes first," Naruto said which was an even bigger relief to the Sandaime since he had long since decided to reveal the truth to Naruto at that age or time.

The third had reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a small rectangular box, he smiled sadly down at it before he handed it over to Naruto. The small blond took it from him with a puzzled frown, the Hokage chuckled before he said, "that once belonged to your mother and I believe she would have wanted you to have it."

Naruto opened the box to find a Leaf Headband, the engraved metal plate was sewn onto a red cloth band. Naruto carefully picked it up and looked up at the Hokage as he asked, "was this really my mothers?"

He nodded as he puffed on his pipe before he said, "yes, when your mother was taken off the active Shinobi list due to her progressing pregnancy with you, her headband was placed in that box by the Yondaime. When your parents died, your father's only surviving student requested to be given his headband, I saw no real reason to deny the request. I believe he keeps the headband with the headbands of his deceased teammates, he's requested that should he die without any students that his headband be placed with the other three. Your mother on the other hand had several surviving students but all of them had said to give the headband to you when you graduated the Academy or should you not choose to become a Shinobi then it was to be given to you when you turned sixteen."

The Hokage puffed on his pipe idly as he gestured to the headband that Naruto was clutching as he said, "you are a Genin now, you've earned the right to wear her headband. Although, many of your classmates would prefer their new headbands rather than a second hand one, I believe that you will cherish that headband far more then you would a brand new one."

Naruto then put this headband on and stared up at the Hokage before he asked quietly, "can I go home now, Old Man Hokage."

The third nodded as he shooed Naruto out of the door and as he said quietly, "yes, go home and get some rest." He watched as the young blond bounced out the door before he turned his attention to Sakinari and asked, "does he know that your summoning contract belonged to his mother?"

Sakinari shook her head before she said, "no, Hokage-Sama, as far as he knows we belonged to a dear friend of hers, Ryuu of the ANBU." She smirked before she stated, "she placed a seal on Naruto that allows him to summon us with a bit of blood and chakra."

The Sandaime looked at her sharply before he said, "well that's reassuring, at least he can send a message back to the village if he needs to. Does he know how to summon you," he asked as he was completing the paperwork to register Naruto as a Genin.

Sakinari nodded as she said, "yes, he does, also the cheetah's will once again be wearing our old headbands now that Naruto is a Genin for Konoha. Let the guards know so they can let us in. We refuse to wear Konoha's headband since we are one of the two personal summons of the Uzumaki clan. As such we will continue to wear the headband that holds the symbol of the village they founded on it."

The third nodded as he made a notation in the blonds file about that and Sakinari casually mentioned, "his name is also on the scroll of our mistress' secondary summon. The Boss of that contract has already given his approval of Naruto to be able to summon not only the lower ranking summons but the boss himself if need be." At that the Sandaime and the ANBU guarding him gaped at her in shock, Manda had already given his approval of Naruto, it had taken the large snake practically forever before he approved of Orochimaru to be able to summon them. Although startled by the new information the Hokage added it to Naruto's file underneath the summon area. He then looked the file over before he added it to the stack along with three other files that he'd be handing over to the Jounin instructors the day after tomorrow.

While he was doing that, Naruto bounded home and greeted Dobby who said, "welcome home, Little Master. Did master have a good day," the elf asked as he set a plate of roast beef, carrots, mashed potatoes and garlic bread on the table in front of Naruto.

Naruto sniffed the food appreciatively as he said, "yeah, I graduated and I even already did a mission," he beamed. He then tapped the headband as he commented, "the Hokage gave me this, it used to belong to my mother."

"That's nice, Little Master, but you must eat and go to bed, you will have a busy day tomorrow," Dobby scolded the blond.

Naruto swiftly obeyed the hyper house elf and finished his plate before he headed to bed, he dressed in his night clothes before he slipped under the covers. Before Dobby went to bed himself, he had peeked in on his Mistress' son and found him to be sound asleep clutching the headband as if it was a teddy bear. "Good night, Little Master," the elf had whispered before he closed the door and went to bed himself.

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Naruto woke up the next morning and got dressed in black pants, he wrapped both shins with charcoal grey wrappings, he wore a short-sleeved ice blue shirt and used the same color wrappings on his lower arms. The wrappings went from his elbows to the middle knuckles of his fingers, he put on his forehead protector and grabbed a black coat from the closet that went to his knees. The coat had a orange flame motif at the bottom of it, one of the reasons that this single coat was his favorite, it was the only one that had orange on it. The coat also had the Uzumaki spiral on each shoulder and the back in silver thread, while along the sleeves of the coat was sewn retrieval seals so he could retrieve the weapons he threw once the battle was over. It also contained storage seals along the collar, the seals were stitched using a thread that was just a shade lighter than the cloth it was sewn into.

He had stored part of his extra weapons, paper seals, first aid supplies and food in the seals, in the food was ration bars specifically tailored to his heightened metabolism. After he had breakfast, Naruto had his picture taken for his file, he was completely serious while the picture was taken since it was going to be in the file until either his promotion to Chuunin or if he had received a scar on the face.

After he turned in his paperwork with the picture and answered several questions, the Hokage asked about the Oiroke no Jutsu, Naruto obliged which, since he used the completely unclothed version, caused the Hokage to fly backwards with a nose bleed.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Naruto collapsed face first onto his couch and groaned, ' _I never realized just how exhausting small children are. I will never, ever again complain about someone telling me to slow down since I've now been on the other side of the shout,_ ' he thought to himself. He snickered as he remembered how Ebisu had looked just before he had a massive nosebleed and passed out, he sighed before he murmured, "I have the feeling I'll be playing ninja with Konohamaru again soon."

After several minutes of lying face down on his couch Naruto finally dragged himself to his feet and went over to his desk to plan out a training program for his clones. Once that was done he went into his bathroom and took a shower before he got ready for bed. He dropped face first into the bed much like he had with the couch earlier. His headband was sitting on top of his dresser along with his weapon pouch and the clothes he planned to wear the next day when the Genin's were assigned to their teams. He was fairly sure he'd end up on the same team as Sasuke but he didn't know who the third Genin of their team was going to be, no matter who it was he was dropping the dumb blond act. For one, it annoyed Sasuke, two: it had annoyed Naruto and three, it wasn't who he was, sure he was a prankster but he could be serious when he needed to be.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

While Iruka was giving a small speech to the Genin's and handed out team assignments, the Hokage was handing each Jounin teacher a set of three folders each. As he did he said, "Kurenai, you'll be in charge of team eight if they pass muster. You are to train them for tracking and intelligence gathering, your Genin are Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga and Shino Aburame." The red eyed woman nodded thoughtfully as she accepted the folders from his before she began to look them over.

He then handed three more folders to Asuma as he said, "Asuma, you will be in charge of Team ten should they pass, like Kurenai's team your team will focus mainly on intelligence gathering. However unlike her team you will not specialize in tracking but in infiltration." Asuma nodded in understanding before he listened idly as the third said, "your team will consist of Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi."

"So I'm going to be responsible for training the next Ino-Shika-Cho team," Asuma asked around the cigarette in his mouth.

The third nodded as he handed the final three folders to Kakashi as he said, "if these three pass your test then they will be known as team seven until one of them reaches Chuunin. If they pass you are to train them as front line fighters, I would tell you to train the girl to be a medic nin but that has to be her decision, however you can suggest the training to her."

Kakashi listened to the Hokage as he opened the first folder to see a pink haired green eyed girl, as he looked over the entry he raised an eyebrow at the lack of notes from the girls instructor along with test results. "Why aren't there any notes from the academy sensei or test results in the files," he asked before the third could begin telling him who was on his team.

The Sandaime cleared his throat before he said in a grave tone, "it came to our attention two nights ago that one of the Chuunin in charge of that particular class was a spy for a new village called Sound. It is unknown if he doctored any of the students files or test records so we pulled said test results and notes from the folders to ensure that none of you would be biased due to potentially forged documents. Now could I please get on with announcing team sevens members," he stared pointedly at Kakashi, who had waved his left hand dismissively at his words.

The Hokage huffed as he thought to himself, _'I wonder if he would be more respectful or even more disrespectful if it was Minato standing in my place.'_ After that thought he said, "the three Genin members that will make up team seven is Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki." At the second name everybody nodded since Kakashi was the only other person to possess a Sharingan Eye other than Itachi and it wasn't like Itachi would be teaching Sasuke how to use his eyes. It made sense to put the last Uchiha on Kakashi's team since he was the only one who could teach the boy how to use his eyes. However at the third name everyone who was not aware that Naruto was the son of the Yondaime and the partner of Sakumo Hatake gasped in shock.

A Chuunin who was unaware of said fact asked, "why was Uzumaki put on that team?"

The Hokage rolled his eyes and said, "his Sensei requested that he be put on a specific team, I saw no reason to deny such a request."

"Iruka asked you to put him on team seven," Anko asked from near Genma.

"No," he stated after a moment to think about answering.

Genma frowned in confusion before he said slowly, "but you just said that his Sensei asked for him to be put on a specific team. Iruka is his only Sensei, isn't he," asked the senbon wielding man.

The Hokage saw it as the look of realization dawned on Asuma and Kurenai's faces before Asuma said slowly, "but Iruka is no longer the only Sensei of the Genins. To be technical, if we accept them as our teams they cease being his students and become ours." He then turned to Kakashi and stated calmly, "you requested that Naruto be placed on your team no matter who the other teammates were, didn't you?"

Kakashi opened the next folder in the stack and said quietly, "because I owe his mother a promise, I promised her that if he passed my test that I would train him to the best of my abilities. Just as I promised each of my deceased teammates something. I promised Rin that I'd teach the girl on my team to stand up for herself and make sure she doesn't end up a useless fan girl or slap her out of that mindset if she already is. And since I have an Uchiha on my team I can fulfill my promise to Obito about using his eye to make sure that at least one Uchiha doesn't have a stick up their ass."

His comment caused quite a few gaping looks from the people around him, except of course for Asuma, Kurenai, Genma and Anko, he ignored the looks as he flipped through Sasuke's file. After he had finished the Uchiha's file he placed the last file on top before he opened it and read through it, he raised an eyebrow at the words underneath the summoning section.

The Sandaime had chuckled a bit at Kakashi's rather blunt assessment of how the Uchiha clan acted around most of the villagers, only a few people were aware that the 'Stick up the ass,' attitude was only an act. Kakashi was one of the few that knew due to his Sensei dating the best friend of an Uchiha plus having an Uchiha as a teammate. Sarutobi knew that Kakashi was hoping that Sasuke's current attitude was just a mask or he'd have to snap the boy out of it.

Kakashi reread the files starting again with Sakura's, only this time he got out a pen and began making notes at the bottom of the file. Asuma glanced over his shoulder and read it silently to himself, **'** _ **Name:**_ **Sakura Haruno**

_**Age:** _ **12**

_**Height:** _ **4' 10"**

_**Weight:** _ **78lbs**

_**Blood type:** _ **O**

_**Date of Birth:** _ **03/28/1985**

_**Clan:** _ **N/A**

_**Ninja Registration Number:** _ **012601**

_**Team number:** _ **7**

_**Team Members:** _ **Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki and Kakashi Hatake.**

_**Rank:** _ **Genin**

_**Summon:** _

_**Status:** _ **Active**

_**Possible Training:** _ **Chakra control exercises along with chakra strengthening exercises, speed building training along with strength and agility training. Teach her and her teammates basic medical jutsu's for field use, find out about her elemental affinity and snap out of fan girl mode if need be. Focus on teamwork, reward any team centered behavior with new jutsu's or a small break from training for a trip to the hot springs.'**

Asuma snorted at the end of the notes that Kakashi had written, while he read over the silver haired man's shoulder as he made notes on Sasuke's file, **'Name: Sasuke Uchiha**

_**Age:** _ **12**

_**Height:** _ **4' 11"**

_**Weight:** _ **93lbs**

_**Blood Type:** _ **AB**

_**Date of Birth:** _ **07/23/1985**

_**Clan:** _ **Uchiha (deceased)**

_**Ninja Registration Number:** _ **012606**

_**Team Number:** _ **7**

_**Team Members:** _ **Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno and Kakashi Hatake**

_**Rank:** _ **Genin**

_**Summon:** _

_**Status:** _ **Active**

_**Possible Training:** _ **Chakra control exercises along with speed building training with strength and agility training. Teach him and his teammates basic medical jutsu's for field use, find out about his elemental affinity and the stick out of his ass if need be. Focus on teamwork, reward any team centered behavior with new jutsu's or higher ranked missions.'**

The bearded man huffed a soft laugh which, due to his position of looking over Kakashi's shoulder, caused the silver haired man to twitch before he moved Naruto's file to the top and began marking it. Upon seeing what was written in the summon area Asuma gasped before he tried to say something but tried was the key word since Kakashi had clapped his hand over the larger man's mouth. He then gave the other man a look that spoke volumes, Asuma mimed that he would keep his mouth shut about it before he read the other mans notes on Naruto's file.

_**Name:** _ **Naruto Uzumaki**

_**Age:** _ **11**

_**Height:** _ **4' 9"**

_**Weight:** _ **88lbs**

_**Blood Type:** _ **B**

_**Date of Birth:** _ **10-10-1985**

_**Clan:** _ **Uzumaki**

_**Ninja Registration Number:** _ **012607**

_**Team Number:** _ **7**

_**Team Members:** _ **Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake.**

_**Rank:** _ **Genin**

_**Summon:** _ **Snake Contract and Cheetah Seal Tattoo**

_**Status:** _ **Active**

_**Missions completed:** _ **S-0, A-0, B-1, C-1, D-0.**

_**Possible Training:** _ **Extreme Chakra control exercises if he has his mothers chakra control. Train in speed, strength and agility exercises. Find out his elemental affinity and if need be find a proper teacher, also see if he has his mother's flair for seals. Train in teamwork, reward such behavior with Ramen, new jutsus' and tales of his mother.**

After Kakashi had finished his notes in the three files he summoned one of his Ninken and said, "Bull, take these to the house and place them on my desk." The massive dog nodded before he took the three folders carefully between his teeth and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The Hokage then cleared his throat before he said, "your teams are waiting for you at the academy, pass them only if they meet your standards. I have been hearing unsettling news about Sound," all of the ninja in the room shifted before they nodded gravely before the Hokage said, "dismissed!"

Kakashi allowed the others to leave the room before the Hokage asked, "you remember Naruto's apartment, correct," the younger man nodded. The Hokage nodded as he said absently, "good, then I won't have to remind you that as much as he acts childish he is surprisingly self sufficient. If your team passes, don't coddle them," he ordered softly but sternly.

Kakashi nodded sharply before he said as he opened the door, "don't worry, Hokage-Sama, I fully plan to train them as if we are at war even if no one else likes it. I have a feeling those three will thrive and do their best while under pressure," the third snorted at that comment as he watched his successors student walk out of his office.

***********************************************************************************

The other teams had already been picked up by their Sensei's, one of the Jounin's had turned to the three as he exited the door, he was the sensei of team ten. He flashed them a grin before he said, "your sensei will be here in a bit but the Hokage held your Sensei back to talk about a mission that had just recently been completed."

Sasuke was leaning forward with his elbows resting on the desk and his chin was resting on his interlaced fingers, Naruto was sprawled out on the floor drawing up a new training plan for his clones. He had an idea halfway through Iruka's speech about something they could train on, Sakura was torn between staring dreamily at Sasuke or gaping at the way Naruto had concentrated on whatever he was doing. She had been surprised when her and Ino had entered the classroom to find the two rivals sitting amicably side by side talking quietly. Sakura had been even more surprised when instead of greeting her with his usual lovesick, 'Sakura-Chan' he had simply said, "hello, Sakura-San."

Finally, the door opened and a woman with long silver hair entered, one of her eyes was covered by her headband while the other one stared at them lazily, she tilted her head to the right as she studied them. "Well at least you're patient, be warned, I'm not usually this early," she commented blandly which made Sakura twitch. Naruto, on the other hand, knew perfectly well just how late Kakashi could be if he put his mind to it. While Sasuke took his cues from Naruto, who hadn't been the least bit surprised at the comment their new Sensei had made to them.

"Meet me on the roof for introductions and my first order for you as your sensei if I decide to keep you," she finally said after a brief staring contest with Sakura. Her single dark eye narrowed before she said, "you have five minutes after I leave this room to arrive and I will be timing you. If one of you doesn't make it within that timeframe all three of you are off my team," she ended threateningly before she vanished with a whirl of leaves.

Before Sakura could begin to panic, Naruto had grabbed hold of Sasuke and dragged him over to her before the three had vanished in a burst of flames. They reappeared on the rooftop where they found their sensei holding a stop watch, she made a show of looking it over before she said, "one minute twenty eight seconds. Not bad, it looks like the three of you are still in the running to be my team," upon seeing Sakura's confused look she asked, "something wrong, Pinky?"

"You keep saying that we're in the running to become your team, aren't we already your team since we've graduated and we've been assigned to you," she asked in a confused tone. Sasuke was also curious about that but Naruto had remembered something that his Ryuu-Okasan told him once about Jounins who trained Genins.

" **It's the Jounin's prerogative to test the Genin assigned to them, some Jounin are very well known and as such their Genin's need to be tougher than others. That's because when the Genin's take the exam to become a Chuunin everyone will know who your sensei is. There are some Jounin who are all that's left of their own families not to mention their entire Genin team. And unless a Genin team manages to strike a chord in such a Jounin then that particular Jounin might never take a Genin team no matter how many they test."**

As the blond stared at Kakashi he idly wondered if the silver haired nin was the last of his team, he knew that their sensei was the last of his family and clan. However he was unaware if the man had also lost his Genin team along with them. "Because the very final portion of your exams is left to your potential Jounin instructor, quite frankly if more than nine of your fellow classmates pass I'll be surprised. I know your names and faces from your files but introduce yourselves, since as far as I'm concerned your files mean nothing."

She then stared at the expectantly, Naruto had shrugged but stepped forward first, "Naruto Uzumaki, my likes are too many to name. I dislike people who act creepy as well as people who glare at others for no good reason and for some reason I really hate the color purple, not dark purple but light purple. My hobbies are taking care of my plant, seal making and training," he then plopped down next to Sasuke on the steps behind him.

Their sensei beamed at the blond before she said, "good, my name is Kakashi Hatake, don't laugh at it," she warned them lightly, "it's not mine nor my fathers fault that my mother had a peculiar sense of humor. Like Naruto here, my likes are many, I really dislike fan girls because they give female Shinobi a bad name and reputation. I also dislike people who don't put their all into something they do, if you're not going to be enthusiastic over something don't do it. My hobbies are Dolphin watching, tending to my plants, reading and occasionally play a prank or two."

She then pointed at Sasuke with an expectant look, the dark haired boy sighed before he said, "my likes are few but private. I also dislike fan girls as they are annoying not to mention a detriment to my training," Sasuke sneered at that while Sakura's face fell. Sasuke leaned back against the steps as he said, "my hobbies are watching hawks, learning new jutsus, and training in the winter time."

Kakashi nodded before she turned to Sakura and said, "alright, what about you? And be honest of your likes, dislikes and hobbies, you can refrain from mentioning anything you don't want to."

Sakura bit her lower lip and chewed on it worriedly before her green eyes filled with resolve as she said, "I like the autumn time, looking at paintings, reading mystery novels and Shiratama Anmitsu. I dislike people who think I'm weak but who won't help me improve, I hate the color yellow, not the sunshine yellow but the greenish yellow." Naruto had pouted slightly when she said she hated the color yellow but perked up when she clarified that she hated greenish yellow not sunshine yellow. "My hobbies are solving puzzles, training so I can prove people wrong about clanless Shinobi and origami," she finally ended.

Kakashi leaned back and contemplated the three kids in front of her before she said, "alright, I'll give you one chance. Meet me at Training ground number , I suggest that none of you eat breakfast since you'd only throw it up." With that their sensei disappeared, all three Genin's blinked for a moment at each other before they went their separate ways.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Later that night, Naruto looked up at a small tap on his window, he beamed with pleasure when he saw his Ryuu-Okasan crouched on the sill. He opened the window and let her into the room, after he closed the window he hugged her before he said as he nuzzled her, "hello, Ryuu-Okasan." As he spoke she had carded her fingers through his bright blond hair as she smiled fondly behind her mask.

"Hello, to you as well, my Naru-Chan," she said with a hint of laughter to her voice, she then tapped his headband lightly as she said in a pleased tone, "I see that you graduated." She ruffled his hair while her mask hid her proud smile, although the mask hid the smile it couldn't completely hide the proud tone to her voice.

"Yep, I got put on a team with Sasuke and Sakura, our sensei is Kakashi but he used his Oiroke no Jutsu form to introduce himself to us so Sakura thinks he's a girl." Naruto had pulled away from Kushina as he had spoken and wandered over to the couch.

When she saw her son's pensive look she had frowned in worry before she asked as she walked over to him, "what's wrong, Naruto?"

Naruto bit his lower lip and worried it with his teeth for several moments before he raised troubled blue eyes up to her gold ones as he asked, "would my mom have cared about me containing the Kyuubi?"

Kushina bit back her instinctive thought of, ' _your mom was pissed but understood her husband's reasoning for putting it in you instead of back into her.'_ Instead she took a deep breath and let it out slowly before she said, "to even understand how your mother would feel about you holding the fox, you need to have a bit of a history lesson. More specifically a history lesson concerning the Kyuubi and your mothers clan." Naruto was clearly confused but he was listening attentively to her so she continued, "the first Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi was a woman named Mito of the Uzumaki Clan. Mito and her husband had two sons, one was raised in Konoha to be the new Head of his fathers clan while the other was raised in Whirlpool to be the new Head of his mothers clan."

Kushina checked to make sure her son was still following her, upon seeing that he was she said, "both sons had two children each, a son and a daughter for both. However," she paused as she remembered the clans reaction to her having the same type of chakra as her grandmother. She quickly shook herself out of the memories and continued where she left off, "only the granddaughter from Whirlpool had the needed type of chakra to take Mito's place as the Kyuubi's host and hold the Fox at bay. Thus when Mito's time came near her son sent his daughter to his mother's side, Kushina Uzumaki was told and prepared to become the Human prison to Kurama, the Nine tailed fox."

"My mom held the fox before me," Naruto breathed out in shock as he stared up at the woman beside him.

Kushina nodded as she said, "yes, and I'll pass on a bit of advice your great-grandmother gave your mother before she became the Jinchuuriki, to the Kyuubi." Naruto stared at her in puzzlement as she said, "love is the only way to counteract the Kyuubi's hate. Your mother could have hated the world and fueled the Kyuubi's hatred. Instead she chose to love, she loved your father fiercely, she adored her Jounin partner just as much and she cherished every moment she had with you."

Naruto stared up at her in awe as he listened to her, "your mother had a knack for doing the impossible, she had managed to soften the Kyuubi's heart. The night that the fox attacked Konoha was the night he had given his word that he'd not fight the seal containing him inside of her. However, someone had forcibly ripped Kurama from the seal and had somehow made him attack Konoha."

She then turned piercing gold eyes toward him as she said, "as your mother did, fill your heart with love and not hate. Don't demand chakra from Kurama, ask for it politely when you meet him, improve his cage and keep playing pranks." She gave him a slightly devilish look via her eyes as she said playfully, "foxes like pranks."

Naruto giggled as he finally relaxed and let his worries about his mother's reaction to him being the Fox's jailer go before he said, "thanks for telling me, Ryuu-Okasan."

She ruffled his hair said, "you're most welcome, Naruto-Kun. Now tell me about your first meeting with your team." The blond quickly launched into a story telling mode as she leaned back into the couch and listened idly to her son.


End file.
